


A Daughter's Yearning

by MigotoNami



Category: Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi
Genre: Beauty and the Beast Elements, Fantasy, M/M, Romance, Witch Curses, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-23 21:12:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7480215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MigotoNami/pseuds/MigotoNami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yokozawa slowly pulled his gaze away to look back at the beast before him, staring once again into those copper eyes that looked so much like Hiyori's. It blinked and nudged his forehead again, and it was in that moment that there was no doubt in his mind that this creature was definitely Kirishima. Beauty and the Beast inspired. KirishimaxYokozawa YukinaxKisa TakanoxOnodera</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Curse

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Sekaiichi Hatsukoi and Yokozawa Takafumi no Baai are owned by Shungiku Nakamura and Fujisaki Miyaki. I own nothing. This story was inspired by Disney's Beauty and the Beast. 
> 
> Songs Listened to When Writing: I See You by Luke Bryan, Siuil A Run by Celtic Woman, Moments Like This by Reamonn, The Elixir of Life by Peter Gundry, The Beauty and The Beast Prologue Instrumental
> 
> For anyone who is confused: In this story, Yukina and Kirishima are brothers. They don't have the same last name because Kirishima took his late wife's surname when they got married.

Blue eyes, wide and shining, looked up at her as she ran her fingers through his soft hair. Her copper irises sparkled as she pet him, her golden brown hair swaying to the soft hum of the salty summer breeze. His white ears twitched as he heard the familiar sound of waves crashing before a contented noise left his throat when she scratched a particularly wonderful spot behind his ear.

She giggled, the sound warm and comforting. “You are so cute! What's your name?” Her hand stopped it's stroking for a moment. “Oh! My name's Kirishima Hiyori. It's nice to meet you.” Her smile was dazzling, reaching up to her beautiful eyes and making them shimmer. “Let's be friends, ne?”

Her fingers continued their caress then as his ears perked up, mimicking her happiness immediately. He could feel everything that she could as if the two of them were attached by a spider's thread. When she was happy, he was as well. When she was angry, he felt enraged. And when she was miserable, so was he... 

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The sound of ticking droned on heavily in the background as aged copper eyes stared unseeingly at the screen before them. Their owner sighed to himself, nails drumming on the desk in the irritating quiet of the room. 

Kirishima Zen turned his gaze down towards the clock at the bottom of his computer screen before shifting to the side to glance out the window towards the driveway. Forcing his eyes back to where they once were, he reached up, typing a few words onto the screen before the cursor stopped. 

The crackle of tires driving against paved asphalt caught his interest and he got up from his seat, stretching his stiff arms. He briefly had to think twice about his feet's movements as he made his way down the confusing hallways to the front entrance.

“Took you long enough, Kou.” His words were light and teasing when he opened the door, leaning up against it's frame as he lazily watched the scene before him.

“Sorry about that!” One of the new arrivals said over the heavy noise of the doors to the car slamming shut. “Kisa-san's GPS got us lost a bit.”

“Yea, sorry.” The other man in the car said, getting out. “I didn't get a chance to update it before we left.”

“Well I can't blame you, really.” Kirishima said, pushing himself off the door and approaching the car. “We are in the middle of nowhere.” The man wasn't at all surprised to find himself pulled into a hug suddenly.

“It's been so long since I've seen you, nii-san.” Yukina Kou said before letting his elder brother go. The sun's rays were practically sparkling against his fair complexion as he smiled.

“Likewise. Glad you two could make it.” 

“It's good to see you too, Kirishima-san.” Kisa said as he shut his own door to the car.

“Just call me Zen.” The elder of the three said, clapping the blackette on the back. He laughed when Kisa almost fell forward from the gesture. “You and Kou have been together so long, we're practically family. Speaking of which, are you two ever going to tie the knot?”

Yukina's expression sparkled as Kisa sputtered, his baby face turning red. “W-why would you ask that all of a sudden?” He asked, only to get a shrug from the owner of the house.

“Just wondering. Am I not allowed to wonder?”

“I never said that...” Kisa muttered in response.

“Anyways,” Yukina said, stretching out the word some as he made to change the subject, sensing his lover's unease. “I still can't believe you actually moved into this place.” The sound of something hefty hitting the asphalt could be heard as he unloaded the trunk. 

“Well mom didn't want it, that's for sure. She said the ocean air would ruin her complexion or something like that.” Zen shrugged. 

“So I guess you really lucked out, huh? Yukina told me you didn't have to pay nearly anything for it.” Kisa's ebony colored eyes were turned up towards the massive house.

“It does have it's downsides, truth be told.” Zen admitted as he came around to help his brother unload. “It's really too big for us. Hiyo's tutor is living here with us now too, but even so...”

“Speaking of Hiyo.” Yukina perked up at the mention of his niece. “Where is she?”

“Probably outside in the garden. She loves it out there.”

“I'm surprised she's not in the new kitchen.” The younger brother laughed, closing the top of the trunk and locking the doors. “She wouldn't stop talking about it last night on the phone.”

“Well there's that too.” Zen said as three of them took up their luggage to head inside. “C'mon. I'll give you the grand tour.”

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

“Uncle Kou! Uncle Kisa!” A small voice as sweet as honey shouted as a small girl with golden brown pig tails flung herself at the two new arrivals.

“Hiyo-chan!” Yukina laughed as he knelt down and caught his niece in his arms, hugging her to him tight.

Kisa scoffed from his spot beside the two of them, crossing his own arms. “You two just spoke to each other this morning.”

“It's not the same!” Yukina berated his lover as he snuggled the precious girl in his arms, causing her to giggle.

“I missed you, Uncle Kisa!” Hiyo said, pulling away from her uncle to jump into Kisa's arms next. 

“We missed you too.” The blackette said, a small smile present as he hugged the little girl to him.

“Ricchan and I just finished making dinner. You'll love it!” Hiyo's eyes were bright as she spoke a mile a minute excitedly. “I made nikujagu, and lots of pastries for dessert. Oh and also-!”

“Whoa whoa.” Her father cut her off, holding up his hands. “They just got here. Let them settle in first.”

“It's alright,” Kou said as he got up from the floor. “It has been a long time since we've seen her, after all. Ne, Hiyo?”

“Mm!” The little girl nodded.

“Who's Ricchan?” Kisa asked after the conversation turned down some.

“My tutor.” Hiyo explained, smiling. “He lives here with us and helps me with all sorts of things in school. He's really smart and very nice!”

“We've known him since Hiyo was in elementary school, and this place is so big, so I figured why not? I needed someone to be with Hiyo after school anyway.” Zen filled in. “He just got another job in the literature department of my company, so he can't be with her always, but his schedule is definitely more flexible than mine.”

“I see.” Kisa said, looking down Hiyo when she grabbed onto his arm to pull him in the direction of the kitchen. 

“I'll introduce you!”

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The sound of leaves rustling could be heard almost as soon as she entered the small clearing. Hiyori pulled a few loose strands of hair that were tossed about by the warm sea breeze behind her ear as she approached the noise. Her feet sank into the ground some as the grass of their backyard was starting to transition into sand.

“There you are.” She giggled and crouched down when a little white head poked out from behind the brush. “Come here.” She called softly, placing the bowl of blue berries she had brought on the ground in front of her.

Big, bright blue eyes stared up at her for a few moments before furry little legs ran up to her, barreling into the ceramic bowl. She laughed and smiled as he gobbled up the berries, staining his white fur with the juices.

The unexpected sound of someone else's laughter stopped her own and Hiyo's copper toned eyes looked behind her at the beachfront, where three figures were passing by her father's private property.

“Mama!” A little boy called, waving his arms up high. “Pick me up! Pick me up!”

“Alright alright.” His mother teased him before swooping her child up into her arms easily. “Jack! Don't go in the neighbor's beach!” The woman called out to their dog, who came to her when called.

Hiyo's eyes caught with the little boy's as his mother turned around to start the long trek back to their own house. The boy coiled his arms through his mother's long hair, hugging her tightly before hesitantly reaching a hand up to wave at her.

Hiyori tried to give the boy one of her normal smiles but failed to do so as she gave a little wave back. She didn't notice how her white furry friend had his ears down low, small noises of distress leaving his throat as his tiny body started to fade away for the briefest of moments.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

“So...like this, Ricchan?”

“That's a good start. But if you change this here...”

“Oh I get it!”

Voices flittered through the foggy evening air out to the deck, where Kirishima absentmindedly cracked open a beer. Fireflies fluttered to and fro and crickets chirped from their hidden spots in the grass as his copper colored irises stared out at the beachfront a small distance away from his new house.

The taste of bitter tang slid down his throat easily as he took a swig of his drink, barely hearing the screen door open and close behind him. 

“Hey.” Yukina greeted him as he sidled up to his brother, mimicking the older man as he rested his arms against the railing of the deck. 

“Hey.” A comfortable silence fell between them as twin pairs of copper eyes observed the waves crashing against the shore. “...Where's Kisa?”

“In your study.” Yukina nodded back in the direction of the house. “His boss called him earlier.”

“That's Takano-san for ya. A real slave driver.” Kirishima hummed around his beer can.

The younger brother sighed heavily, turning around to lean his back against the railing. “I know. Sometimes I seriously wonder how you guys get around labor laws. It's a miracle we even got this week off to come visit.”

The older man shrugged. “Well we're not too far from the city. It takes less than twenty minutes to drive Hiyo to school, and around twenty five to reach the office. He can head in if he needs to.”

“That's not the point though.” Yukina whined, only allowing himself to be needy in the presence of his family. “This was supposed to be our vacation.” 

“It still is.” Kirishima said, casing a sidelong glance at the younger man. “Quit your bitching.”

“I know I know.” Yukina relented, chuckling some as that prince-like smile made it's way onto his face. “So how's Hiyo been doing? She working on her summer book report?” 

“Yep.” The older brother took another swig of his beer. “This one's about a mom and her daughter or something like that. Apparently it's got a really sad ending. I even came home one day to find her tearing up over it. ”

A hum came from the younger of the two before it became quiet again for a few moments. “Do you think...” Yukina started hesitantly, gaze downcast. “It wasn't just the book that made her so upset?”

Kirishima let a sigh out through his nose as he brought a hand up to lean his cheek against his palm. “I have thought about that.” He admitted quietly. “Truthfully, she's been a little distant after reading that book, and she's been spending nearly all her free time in the garden. She's never disliked the outdoors, but...”

“Has she said anything to you about Sakura?”

“We've had long talks about her before. Hiyo was so young when it all happened. She never even really got to meet Sakura, so I've always answered anything she's asked of me about her.”

“Maybe she's feeling lonely.” Yukina frowned as he watched his niece go over her paper with Onodera through the window. “You do work a lot.”

“I've thought of that too, and I've been spending as much time with her as I can. Ritsu's usually with her when I can't be, so I don't think that's it.” Kirishima sighed. “I think...maybe she really wants a mother figure in her life.”

“Well that's all on you then.” Copper colored eyes looked side long at the other man. 

“Yea.” Kirishima rubbed the empty spot on his ring finger absentmindedly. “I know.”

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

“Hiyo, it's time to get up.” Kirishima yawned as he rapped on the door to his daughter's room before letting himself in. Pinks and purples assaulted his still foggy morning vision as he put a hand to his stomach, thinking maybe he shouldn't have had those extra beers last night.

The handsome father blinked when he found his daughter's sheets made up and completely empty. Zen frowned and scratched the back of his head as he made his way downstairs, glancing at the clock incredulously as he did so.

“Morning.” Ritsu greeted quietly, looking up from his book as Zen entered the kitchen. “You're up early.” His green eyes swept over the older man's appearance in confusion.

“Yea...” Zen said, looking out of sorts. “I thought that Hiyo said she wanted me to wake her up early so that we could make breakfast for everyone together yesterday...” He pondered, opening up the fridge and looking inside.

Ritsu snorted at that, taking a sip of his coffee. 

“I heard that.” The older of the two closed the door to the fridge, offended. “And I'll have you know that I can make a pretty damn good omelet when I want to.”

The brunette shook his head, green eyes downcast again to his novel. “Anyway, Hiyo was just here a few minutes ago. She grabbed some strawberries and ran outside for some reason... She wouldn't tell me what for, though.”

A golden brown colored eyebrow rose at this. “...I'll go find her then. Can you wake up Kou and Kisa? Those two will sleep like the dead if you let them.”

“Sure.” 

The door to the backyard slide open quietly as Kirishima got on his shoes, pulling his pajama pants up higher from their loose position around his hips as he made his way outside. A grimace found it's way onto his face as the morning dew on the grass wet the bottom ends of his pants.

“Hiyo!” The father called out for his daughter. “Hiyori!” He tried again, frowning when he received no response.

Sudden laughter from a child caught his ear and he turned in that direction. “Hiyo...?” He called again, pushing away some branches from a few of the numerous trees on their property before his copper eyes came to rest on his daughter.

“Oh!” The little girl turned around, startled. “Hi Papa!” She looked up at him but his wide copper eyes were looking down at her furry white companion in her lap. “I was just about to head inside to find you, but it seems we lost track of time, ne?” She smiled down at her animal friend.

“Hiyori, what are you doing?” Kirishima's tone was icy and hard, back tensing as he took on the front of an angered parent. “Why is there a bear cub in you lap?” His eyes darted up to the scorching sun, to the beachside on their property and then back again. “And a polar bear at that? How in the hell-” He cut himself off.

“Oh I um...found him a few days ago. He looked really sick so I gave him some fruit.” Hiyo voiced hesitantly, her smile gone as she slowly got up from her spot on the ground, dusting off her sundress.

“Hiyo, you should know better than to go anywhere near an animal like this.”

“But he's just a baby, papa.” Hiyo tried to defend herself, arms spread out as she stared up at her father.

“Baby or not, he's still dangerous.” Kirishima scolded his daughter, taking one of her small hands in his own and pulling her away from the animal. The baby polar bear tottled closer to the two of them, small noises leaving it's throat, and the father backed up in response.

“But he needs me!” The bear's cries grew louder, matching Hiyo's voice, which grew in desperation.

“He'll be fine.” The father chided, copper eyes looking every which way frantically. “His mother should be around somewhere. Which is exactly why I don't want you going near it!”

Hiyo's face fell and she looked down at her feet, her copper irises widening when she saw the little cub there. He was pawing at her sandals and crying. His voice was low and miserable, making frantic calling noises, but it wasn't her that he was yearning for.

“What...what's wrong?” Hiyo asked, kneeling down over the bear cub. “Do you...do you want your mama?” Her voice shook a little as she brought a hand up to her chest, abruptly feeling a dull ache there.

She looked down at the bear cub once again and gasped suddenly, bringing a hand to her mouth as her gaze met with glowing white ones. The little girl watched helplessly as the small animal started to suddenly disappear right before her eyes. 

“Hiyo get away from there!” Kirishima yelled as he pulled his daughter away. 

“But! Papa! He's hurt!”

“Don't go near it! It's-!”

The world suddenly stopped as an ear shattering roar ripped through the air. Hiyo frantically covered her ears, a startled scream of her own leaving her mouth as her father winced. The sound of loud sniffing and scratching followed the noise before the same roar sounded again at a lower volume. 

“Papa...” Hiyo whimpered, hugging him tight as the sound grew closer and the ground underneath them began to shake.

Kirishima didn't answer her as he stood rooted to the spot, coming to recognize what animal that roar came from. He vaguely heard the worried calls from his brother as the rest of the occupants to the house ran outside, but his mind was elsewhere.

“What the hell's going on out here?”

“What was that?”

“Quiet!” Kirishima ordered his family behind him suddenly. “Listen...”

All were silent, listening, as the heavy sound of footfalls approached, all the while terrifying roars and bellows sounding. Trees parted way easily as if they were bending by their own will to welcome the newcomer forward.

Kirishima held his daughter tightly to his side, a shiver running it's course down his back as he stood paralyzed, the baby bear at his feet answering the huge roars with little ones of it's own, drawing the creature to them.

“Nii-san!” Yukina grabbed his brother's arm, his golden brown hair whipping frantically in every direction as the wind suddenly began to pick up and the sky started to darken above their heads. “Get inside! Now!”

The younger man's pulling against his arm did nothing to move him as Kirishima's body refused to move. Just when Yukina turned back to ask for help from Ritsu and Kisa, Hiyo suddenly gasped from within her father's arms.

“Look!” The little girl suddenly shouted as she pointed between the trees, her voice shaky from tears as the last piece of wood parted. 

Time stood still as a hulking mother bear moved through the brush, her mass so tall that the tips of her ears reached the tallest trees beside her. Her enormous jaws could swallow a man whole and her paws alone were big enough to crush a car if she so desired.

The mother bear's entire body was made of nothing but water from the sea, and her insides swished as she stopped before them. Numerous corals from all over the world filled her legs and stomach with their radiant colors as hundreds of colorful fish swam every which way. Bigger sea creatures such as turtles, rays, manatees and dolphins swam up near her shoulders and back, some even daring to jump out of the water before landing back inside. An otherworldly glow surrounded her as she stood there, her burning white eyes staring down at the tiny humans.

Hiyo brought a hand to her mouth as she saw that the mother's eyes matched that of her bear cub's. Copper irises looked down instinctively to where her small animal friend had just been. “Papa!” The little girl called, her voice broken as tears fell from her eyes.

The little white bear cub was now suddenly made of sea water just like its mother. Tiny clown-fish swam around inside of the bear as it looked up at Hiyo with those cold, glowing eyes. The little girl pulled away from Kirishima, breaking free easily as her father's own copper gaze was focused elsewhere.

“No! Come here!” Hiyo called out to the little bear cub, running over to him. She touched his small head hesitantly, pulling her hand back as her fingertips became wet with salt water. “No...” She hiccuped, tears streaming down her face as she looked down at her animal friend. 

Through her hazy vision, Hiyo was able to see a reflection of herself against the cub's watery texture. Her face was red and puffy in the mirror image, and she could see how miserable her own expression was, but couldn't believe it. “That's...me?” She whispered before the baby bear looked up at her, catching her copper gaze in his burning white.

The image of the mother and child she had seen yesterday flashed by her mind against her will, forcing her to watch the two of them smile and play together. More tears welled up in her sight as the image faded away and she looked down at the baby bear once again, finding that the sad reflection of her eyes matched the bear's own expression completely. She blinked some of her tears away then, watching as the cub did the same, mimicking her and her expressions. 

“Zen! Hiyo!” Her uncle's terrified voice broke her out of her stupor and she turned to look at him just as her father pulled her up and away from the baby bear again. Yukina's normal happy smile was now gone and replaced with a horrified expression as his gaze fixed itself on the mother bear. Kisa and Onodera had similar expressions, completely frozen and captivated by the glowing animal spirit. 

Meanwhile, the mother bear's gaze was focused on Hiyori, who was now perched in her father's arms. Her burning gaze traveled from the little girl downwards to her precious baby. The clown-fish inside of him were sluggish with sorrow and seclusion as he called for her again, forced to voice the silent yearnings that were not his own.

Burning white eyes turned back to Hiyo before looking down to the cub and then back again, finding the same yearning in her as she saw in her baby. She took a step forward then with one of her massive paws, watching as the humans scurried back away from her. 

The little bear cub ran to his large mother then without a moment's hesitation, his ears perky with joy as he barreled into her watery paw, the outline of his body dissolving instantly. 

“No!” Hiyo shouted, squirming in her father's arms as the clown-fish that had inhabited the baby bear's body dispersed, no trace of the little animal's existence left over as the mother bear absorbed him. The little girl turned back to her father and buried her face in his neck as she cried.

Meanwhile, Kirishima squinted his copper gaze, watching as the clown-fish swam all the way up to the mother bears eyes slowly. As the last fish reached the burning white flames, they lit up brighter than a thousand suns, forcing him to turn his gaze away. 

As the glowing in her eyes reached their highest peak, the sea guardian let out a roar louder than anything she had ever done before. Hiyo screamed and covered her ears again, hiding in the protection of her father's arms as the wind ferociously whipped at them from the fury of the bear's bellow. 

The calm blues, greens, oranges and yellows of the mother bear's coral turned red in that moment as she roared. Sharks, sea snakes, electric eels, lion fish and orcas suddenly filled the mother bear's waters, blood gushing into the raging waves as the docile fish were consumed. 

Onodera covered his ears as Yukina ran to Kisa, pulling the shorter male into his arms as the blackette shut his eyes, trembling. Hiyori and Kirishim clung to each other as the force of the roar knocked all of them backwards onto the grass. The mother bear leaned over the father and daughter, roaring once again and plunging them all into darkness.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Auburn colored irises opened slowly as Kirishima came to, blinking as the dark orange of the sunset up above him assaulted his vision. The handsome father slowly sat up, bringing a hand to his forehead, a pained expression on his face. 

“...What?” He whispered to himself, his vision swimming as he tried to recollect his thoughts.

The sudden images of churning salt water and burning white dead eyes flashed before him and he sat up straighter, looking around at his surroundings. The backyard was eerily quiet, there being no signs that the mother bear had been there whatsoever.

“Hiyo?!” Kirishima called out for his daughter first, tone trembling as he got up, turning his gaze this way and that. His vision caught the sight of a little girl lying down in the grass a few feet away from him and he froze. 

Red consumed Hiyori's entire head, and he immediately assumed the worst, rushing to his daughters side, panicking. Kirishima hovered over her on his knees, his expression so full of emotion as tears welled up in his eyes. Could he even touch her? Would it only hurt her instead of help her?... Was she already gone?

Kirishima then noticed that the red he was now seeing was indeed, not blood, but instead looked like hair. The handsome father hesitantly turned his daughter around, his eyebrows turned down in confusion as he saw that Hiyori's normal honey brown strands were now a dark, deep red. Rose flowers stuck to the colorful strands like accessories, holding her hair back away from her face.

The little girl's face was pale as she slept on. “Hiyo.” Her father called, smoothing a few stray strands away from his child's face. How did this happen? Was the light playing tricks on him? Kirishima traced his gaze down further over his daughter, his confusion growing ever stronger as he caught sight of what else had changed about his little girl.

Hiyori's feet were brown as if she had spent too much time playing in the mud. Green stems with random protruding leaves trailed from her ankles all the way up her sides, down her arms and up again, ending just behind her ears. The stems and leaves were grooved against the girl's skin, as if someone had professionally tattooed them onto her. 

“Hiyo?! Hiyori!” Kirishima called out to her, smoothing a hand over her face. She was still breathing, but appeared to be dreaming. Her father screamed at her, even shook her hard, but she did not awake.

Kirishima breathed heavily as he picked up his daughter's motionless body and stood slowly, legs shaking. “Kou?! Kisa?! Ritsu?!” He called out for the other occupants of the house, voice trembling.

His eyes landed on Ritsu first as the brunette lay only a few feet away in the grass. Aside from appearing to be unconscious, he seemed to be alright. 

“Ritsu, get up!” Kirishima called out desperately, putting Hiyo down for a second to attend to the younger man. 

Green eyes fluttered open as Ritsu was shaken awake. “Kirishima-san...what?” He asked, frowning up at his land lord when he saw the older man practically panicking. “What's going on?” Ritsu's gaze suddenly widened. “What happened? Where's that bear?”

“I don't know! Get up! And stay with Hiyo!” Kirishima ordered, tone frantic as he ran over to the last two occupants of the house. Yukina had his arms around Kisa, the both of them asleep as they clung to each other. 

Kirishima grabbed onto his brother's shoulder and shook him awake, calling out his name. Some relief swept over the older brother like a small wave when Yukina's copper colored eyes peeked open. Kisa was shaken awake next, his own onyx irises blinking.

When Kirishima was sure everyone was fine, the father wasted no time in running to his daughter, picking her up once again and heading inside. 

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Yukina watched his brother disappear into the recesses of the house, blinking as he tried to get his still sleep hazy mind to clear. He turned his gaze to his left as Kisa sat up, placing a hand over his eyes. “Kisa-san? What's the matter?” 

Kisa sighed, massaging the creases of his eyes with his thumb and index finger. He shook his head as Yukina placed a hand over his. 

“Are you two alright?” Yukina looked up as footsteps approached, finding Onodera looking down at them. The brunette looked a little confused, but otherwise fine as he stood there, one hand cupped over his right ear.

“I think so.” Yukina said, getting up. He placed a hand on Kisa's shoulder as the blackette removed his hand from his eyes. His lover refused to look at him, so the art student turned his attention to the brunette for the time being.“Are you alright, Onodera-san?”

“Yes. I'm fine.” Ritsu nodded, frowning some when the action made his head spin. He looked like he wanted to say something more as he stood there, massaging the skin just below his ear, but the tutor remained silent.

“Why did nii-san run inside? Is everything okay?” Yukina avoided any questions about the bear for now. It could wait until he knew that everyone was safe.

Ritsu shook his head. “I'm not sure but I think something's wrong with Hiyori.”

Yukina's copper eyes widened and he immediately got up at this news, ushering everyone inside after his brother.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kirishima paced in his daughter's room, his phone in hand as he searched through recommended emergency numbers for their area, unsure what to do. The curtains were drawn, dimming the usually bright pink and purple colored room.

The worried father passed a glance at his daughter as she remained unconscious atop her bed. He hadn't noticed it before in the light outside, but Hiyori was radiating a mysterious pink glow around her, much like that mother bear had. When he noticed this, Kirishima had proceeded to try and wake her again, fearful eyes begging her to wake up, but the little girl remained sleeping.

Kirishima's breathing was labored and his entire body felt like it was suddenly tingling as he searched through his phone. His eyes shifted suddenly as his brother burst through the door, panting. 

“Nii-san is everything alr-”

Yukina cut himself as his copper gaze landed on Hiyo. His face fell, eyebrows turned up in devastation as he stared at his niece. “What happened?” The artist approached the little girl, falling down to his knees at her bedside as he looked her over.

“I...I don't know.” Kirishima ran a hand through his waved locks. “But she won't wake up no matter what I try.” He came to stand next to his brother, Yukina's presence alone calming him a bit. “I don't know what to do.”

The sound of Kisa and Ritu's hurried footsteps could be heard, and the two brother's turned to look at them as they ran into the room.

“What's going on!?”

“Is she okay?!”

Yukina held up his hands, trying to smile some to calm everyone down, but failing to do so. “She's fine! She's fine! She's just sleeping.”

“The hell she is!” Kisa berated his lover, and angered look on his face as he stared up at his lover.

Meanwhile, Ritsu had approached Hiyori's bedside and was looking down at her with a pained expression. “Is she...”

“No!” Kirishima answered immediately before the brunette could finish his sentence. He did not want to hear that word associated with his daughter. Ever. “I'm going to call the police, and a doctor.”

“What good will that do?” Kisa frowned, moving to sit on Hiyori's bed and pushing back a stray piece of hair from her face. “You really think that anyone would believe something like this? Look at her!”

“Then what do you want me to do?!” Kirishima snapped, feeling more angry at himself than anyone else in the room. His entire body was beginning to itch now, his skin pulsating as what little light in the room dimmed, the world outside turning into night. “I have to do something! My daughter...she's...” He paused, bringing a hand up to his face and pinching the bridge of his nose. His eyes were screwed shut as his brow furrowed in pain.

“I know.” Yukina said, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. “Just calm down. We'll figure something out.”

“I can't!” Kirishima clutched onto his brother's arms tightly, causing the art student to wince. “I can't...let her...”

“Hey! Nii-san!” Yukina called out to his brother as the editor collapsed onto the ground. “What's wrong?! Hey!”

“Kirishima-san?!”

“Zen!”

Voices surrounded the father, but they all sounded distant and murky, as if he were underwater. His vision was fuzzy as the other three adults in the room surrounded him. Sweat dripped off of him in waves as every vein in his body pulsated, rising to the surface of his skin. Kirishima opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out as the itch in his skin intensified. Hair follicles in his skin abruptly rose up to the top layer before they burst, causing him to scream.

“ZEN!” Yukina watch helplessly as his brother writhed on the floor in front of them. Kirishima clawed at one of his younger brother's hands in desperation, leaving deep slash marks on the art student's hands as he tried to hold him down. “Someone call the police! Please!” Yukina's distraught voice called out as distressed tears trickled down his cheeks.

Kirishima's screams grew louder as he thrashed around on the ground, the sound of bones popping out of place filling the room. Long, auburn strands of hair forcibly pushed out of the father's skin as he clawed at the floor, the shallow markings from his fingernails soon becoming deeper as his nails grew dangerously long. Anguished, pained cries left him as he felt his bones shifting underneath his skin: his legs became longer, his hands became larger, his ears grew, and his teeth sharpened.

The father pressed his palms to his face, feeling the bones moving underneath. He arched his back, tears leaving him as he both felt and heard his own face rearranging itself. The worst came, however, as the feeling of something sharp and hot pierced through his lower back, the skin breaking through, making him arch further in pain as agonized screams left him. The feeling of his own spine elongating outside of his own body was too much pain to bare as Kirishima's vision faded in and out, the last thing he heard being the sound of his own pained screams turning into terrified roars.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

“...Papa! Papa, wake up.”

Copper colored eyes peeked open before closing again. Fuzzy sploshes pinks and purples entered his vision before focusing upon red. 

“Papa!” Hiyori called out again, putting a tiny hand up to her father's cheek. “You're finally awake. Thank goodness! You really scared all of us.” She sighed in relief, using her other hand to press a cold cloth against his forehead.

“Hiyo...” He called to her, his voice raspy as he pressed a hand over hers. 

Copper irises widened as realization sank in and he sat up quickly, taking in the form of his daughter. Hiyori was no longer radiating that otherworldly pink glow as she stood by her bed, where her father had previously been laying. Red hair cascaded down her back and shoulders with those roses remaining intertwined within the strands, keeping half of it up in a tiny ponytail. Twining stem tattoos were still at her sides and her complexion was still pale, but she otherwise seemed to be perfectly fine.

“Never mind that. I'm just glad you're alright.” Kirishima brought a shaky hand up to his daughter, about to touch her new red locks but froze. 

Silence stretched on for a few long moments before the little girl broke it.

“I can't understand you, Papa.” Hiyo frowned, looking from her father's hand back up to his eyes. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she rung her hands together. “...I don't speak lion.”

Kirishima's copper orbs widened in confusion and he suddenly got up from the bed. His legs were shaky as he carried himself across the room. The editor grabbed hold of Hiyori's vanity mirror, hesitating in place before slowly turning it to face him. 

The bold face of a male lion stared back at him. The lion's mane was wavy and golden brown, like Kirishima's hair used to be, with the ears of a fox resting on top. The coloring of the mane traveled down his back and stomach, fading to white on his chin and chest and stopping just before the torn remnants of his pajama pants from this morning.

The distraught father brought a shaking hand up to touch the mirror, noting that he now had black fur covering his forearms and calves. His hands and feet were both replaced with fox paws, but his fingers were still human-like in the fact that he could still articulate each one individually. Kirishima flexed his new digits before his attention was drawn downwards, noticing something fluffy brushing against his legs. 

The father turned around to look over his shoulder and grimaced as he hesitantly grabbed hold of his new brown and white fox tail coming out of his lower back. It twitched in his hand, startling him. The father slowly let the tail go and turned back to the mirror to take in his new image once again, every muscle in his body tensing up.

…

“Papa, calm down!” Hiyo called, running to his side and throwing her small arms around him, sensing her father's distress before he even acted upon it. “You're okay!”

In the end, Hiyori's reassurance did nothing as Kirishima screamed, the sound translating as a loud, angered roar as he panicked, pulling at his new features as he begged that they weren't real.

“Papa!” Hiyori called, reaching her hands out to her father as he stumbled out of her arms, knocking into her bookshelf as he continued to roar. 

“Papa!!”

“What's going on!?” A new voice shouted as Yukina soon ran into the room upon hearing his brother's distress. “Nii-san calm down! Nii-san!” The younger brother yelled, trying to grab Kirishima's attention as the lion-fox continued to panic and roar.

Without thinking, the art student took up the closest thing to him, a stuffed teddy bear from Hiyo's toy collection , and threw it at Kirishima, hitting him square in the nose.

That seemed to work as Kirishima brought his clawed hands up to his nose, holding it, as Yukina approached him. The younger brother's eyes firm as he stared up at his sibling, pieces of golden brown hair falling in front of their gaze. “Calm down.” Yukina commanded, his tone icy as his featured hardened.

Kirishima only stared down at his younger sibling in shock, slowly rubbing his sensitive nose as he made a small, distressed noise.

“Sit down.” Yukina pointed to Hiyori's bed, ignoring his brother's call for the time being.

The lion-fox did so sluggishly, before standing up again, surprised, as he looked over his shoulder at his flattened tail. Kirishima sat down then, this time carefully maneuvering his new appendage.

“Now, are you alright?” Yukina tone returned to normal as he inspected his brother by poking and prodding at his new features, checking his sharp teeth and paws. When the art student went for his ears, Kirishima lightly batted his brother's hands away, making a small irritated roar. “Are you hurt?” 

The father shook his head, calming down some as Hiyo sat beside him. “You really scared us Papa! I'm glad you're alright.” She said, looking up at her father with glassy eyes. “I woke up while you were screaming. I thought...” The little girl stopped herself, hugging her father and burying her tiny face into his fur. “I thought you were gonna...”

Kirishima quickly shook his head, placing one of his black paws on his daughter's back, pulling her closer gently. 

“This is all my fault, Papa. I'm so sorry!” Hiyo teared up, her small arms trembling as she hugged her father as hard as she could. A large clawed hand was placed on top of her head, causing her to look up at him. Kirishima wrapped his arms around his daughter, hugging her affectionately.

“We could never blame you for this, Hiyo.” Yukina filled in for his brother as he raked a hand through his golden brown hair, sighing. “But can you please tell me what happened now that your papa is awake?”

Hiyori bit her lips, her copper eyes turning to her uncle and then back to her father before she nodded hesitantly. She pulled away from Kirishima, one of her small hands still entangled within his fur. “I met the baby bear a couple of days ago. I found him just as I finished reading my book.” Hiyo looked down at her lap, biting her lip. “He was crying, and I thought that he had gotten separated from his mama, so I left him be so that she could find him. And...the next day he was still there, though. So I gave him some fruit from the fridge to help him. But he wouldn't leave after that, so I fed him every day after lunch and I even read to him from my book.” The little girl had a small, sheepish smile on her face. “I had just finished feeding him, Papa, when you found us. I've never seen his mama before today, though. And I don't know why she would...” She stopped, looking upset as she gestured down to herself and to her father's appearance.

“Is there anything else Hiyo?” Yukina pressed gently when the little girl stopped. 

“Well...” She hesitated, looking up at her uncle and father. “Um...I think he was...mimicking me. I'm not sure though.”

“Mimicking you? How so?”

“Like... when I read him certain parts of my book he would get really sad and start calling for his mama again. And... this morning, when I picked him up right before he ran to the mama bear, he had the same expressions that I did, and I think...” The little girl paused. “I think...I saw a picture of a um... of a mama and her baby in his eyes.”

The two adults were silent as Hiyo finished, letting her words sink in. Quietly, Kirishima got up from the bed and pointed a clawed finger at his daughter, causing her to blink. He then pointed to the bed , causing her to shake her head. “But Papa, I'm not-!” The lion-fox repeated the motion, expression stern, and she very hesitantly nodded.

Kirishima placed a clawed hand gently upon Hiyo's head and ran his fingers through her hair affectionately before motioning for his brother to follow him out of the room.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

A large, black, clawed hand hovered hesitantly over a beer, the sound of ticking being the only thing in the kitchen as the clock reached four am. Very carefully, Kirishima maneuvered his new hands to try and open the smooth cylindrical can.

“I said that I would get it for you.” Yukina sighed as he sipped his own beverage, watching his brother's struggle. The only response he received from said lion-fox was an irritated grunt.

Yukina sat back in his chair at the breakfast bar, his gaze directed at the floor. “Nii-san...about before...” His copper eyes glanced up at Kirishima, only to have them widen. “Nii-san!” The lion-fox had proceeded to take out all the beer in the fridge and had set them on the kitchen table, trying to open them all. “You don't need that much!”

Kirishima paused, his copper eyes hard as he stared at his brother. He gestured to his new appearance angrily before proceeding to try and open a can, only to have one of his sharp claws pierce through the top. 

Yukina sighed once again, the bags under his eyes becoming prominent from the gesture. “Nii-san...I'm sorry.” Confused copper eyes met his as Kirishima took a drink of his beer, holding the can gently with both hands. “We contacted the police after you passed out but... I couldn't let them in when they arrived. I knew that you could have been seriously hurt, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.” Yukina bit the inside of his lip. “What if they took you and Hiyo away from us?” He shook his head. “I just...”

Silence filled the room before Kirishima moved to go sit with brother at the bar, looking at Yukina fully. The art student had his elbows on the table, resting his forehead on his linked hands as he frowned. He looked twice his age as he sat there, the stress probably eating him alive all this time that Kirishima had been unconscious. 

Eventually, Kirishima tapped his younger brother's arm gently before gesturing to the hallway that led to all the bedrooms. The younger brother looked confused at where the lion-fox was pointing for a moment. “...Hiyo?” Yukina asked, remembering that the little girl's room was down that way, but Kirishima only shook his head. “...Kisa-san and Onodera-san?” The father nodded.

“They're fine, for the most part. Onodera-san said something about his ears hurting him, but I think that was just from the mother bear's roar...” A pregnant pause passed between them for a moment before Yukina changed the subject. “I think something's bothering Kisa-san too, but he wouldn't answer me when I asked him.” He frowned. “We were all taking turns watching over you while you slept. You were...completely out for a few hours.” The art student rubbed his thumb against the white surface of his mug. “Hiyo's been up ever since you passed out. When I told her to go sleep in my room, she said that she wanted to stay to make sure you were okay.”

“I...was very scared. We all were.” Hazy copper eyes turned to Kirishima. “What's going on, nii-san? Why is this happening to you two? What was that bear? Is everyone...going to change? Like you and Hiyo?” Yukina was looking to his older brother for answers, but the lion-fox just shook his head. 

Yukina put his face in his hands silently as neither one of them had any answers about why this happened or even how to fix it. The art student blinked when a clawed hand grabbed for one of his own. The younger brother frowned in confusion as Kirishima took one of his hands, inspecting the scratch marks he found there.

“Oh...” Yukina looked away. “Those were from...when you...” He couldn't finish his sentence.

Kirishima frowned, letting his brother's hand go, the fox ears on his head down low. “I completely forgot about them, to be honest.” Yukina gave a dry chuckle. “They don't hurt at all.”

Kirishima's frown deepened at this, looking over the red skin and deep slash marks that surely should be throbbing and burning. The lion-fox's gaze turned to the steaming cup of coffee that Yukina had previously been holding, his brow's furrowing. 

The father abruptly let his brother's hand go and touched the white mug, pulling his hand back instantly as the hot cup nearly burned him. Kirishima watched, disbelieving, as Yukina picked up the mug easily and took a sip. “What?” The younger of the two asked.

Kirishima was silent for a long time before he carefully took the steaming mug from his brother. Yukina didn't protest as the lion-fox ushered him up and pushed him gently in the direction of the hall leading to the guest rooms.

The art student's tired eyes glanced from the clock on the wall to his brother, hesitating. “You...promise that you'll be here when I wake up?”

Kirishima nodded immediately, eyes hard.

“And Hiyo will too?”

Another nod was the editor's only answer.

A long moment passed between the two of them, twin pairs of copper eyes just staring at each other before Yukina sighed. “Alright. I'll...see you in the morning.” He relented, taking one last look at his brother before disappearing into the hallways of the huge house.

When he was finally alone, Kirishima went back to the beers on the table and proceeded to poke a hole through the top of the can easily. At least there were some perks from this form...

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The next morning awoke Kirishima abruptly as the bright rays from the sun assaulted his eyes. The editor groaned, bringing a hand up to shield them as he turned around. He stretched his arms above his head as he got up and walked into the adjoined bathroom connected to his room. 

Copper eyes glanced at the mirror briefly as Kirishima washed his face, lost in the fog of his usual morning drowsiness. He brought a hand up to his smooth nose and rubbed it as he saw a red mark there. Did Yukina really hit him that hard last night? He contemplated about t his as he ran his fingers over the smooth skin of his nose.

All of a sudden, the editor slammed his hands down against the sink, looking at the mirror as he came to realize that his own human face was staring back at him. He reached up and touched his cheek hesitantly. “I'm...” His voice sounded raspy, but it was there all the same. 

Sincerely hopeful that all of that had been a dream, the father ran out of his room and rushed to his daughter's, but the sight that greeted him crushed all dreams as reality sank in its cruel teeth.

Hiyori lay upon her bed, sleeping as that cursed otherworldly pink glow surrounded her. Her father staggered over to her, hugging her and burying his face in her red hair as she unconsciously slept on, he not even having to check to know that she was unconscious and unable to wake up...

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

~Random Short~

Takano Masamune blinked to himself as he sipped his morning coffee during his morning commute with Onodera when a sudden message appeared in his snapchat. A grin found it's way to his face when he saw that it was from Kirishima.

Ever since the editor-in-chief of Japuun and his best friend had started dating, the two of them never really saw eye to eye until they promised to at least try and be civil and talk with each other for Yokozawa's sake. That's where snapchat came in.

Takano's neck jolted and he almost spit his coffee out in laughter as he saw an image of his best friend appear on his phone screen. Yokozawa was spread out amongst the pillows half hazardly, hair every which way, clearly shirtless with drool falling out of his open mouth. 

The caption underneath said: “When bae don't know he beautiful.” with a princess crown emoji next to it along with some sparkles around the image.

“What's so funny?” The editor-in-chief looked off to his side to see Onodera looking at him with curious green eyes. 

“...Nothing.” Was all Takano chose to wisely say, watching as the other man shrugged some and got up from his seat to throw his coffee away, unaware of how his boss quickly started to film him.

Masamune couldn't help but snicker as he took a small video zooming in on Onodera's scrumptious ass before captioning the video with five peach emojis and sending it off to Kirishima, cackling all the while.

The chief editor had to wait until they were almost to work before he got his next response from Kirishima, but the wait was so worth it.

The editor-in-chief of Japuun sent a video in response of just him felling over onto the floor, knocking things every which way in his office before looking all disheveled up at the camera and saying one word: “Dayum.”

Takano shook his head in laughter as he went to take another video, this time of himself with the bee voice changer emoji to rant about his boyfriend's fine ass when he got a snap from Yokozawa. 

Masamune laughed uncontrollably as he saw it was just a picture of Yokozawa looking at Kirishima as if the man was crazy with a caption asking: “Do you know what the fuck is wrong with him?” It was all Takano could do send a pic of himself back shrugging with a straight face, deigning to keep his snaps with Kirishima a secret for as long as they could.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Sekaiichi Hatsukoi and Yokozawa Takafumi no Baai are owned by Shungiku Nakamura and Fujisaki Miyaki. I own nothing. This story was inspired by Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
> 
> Songs Listened to When Writing: Belle from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, The West Wing from Disney's Beauty and the Beast
> 
> *For anyone who is confused: In this story, Yukina and Kirishima are brothers. They don't have the same last name because Kirishima took his late wife's surname when they got married.
> 
> **Also for anyone who is confused, the two biggest rooms in Kirishima's house are the ballroom and the kitchen. They are both across from eachother and have a courtyard in between them. Hope this helps!

The sound of subway cars rocking back and forth as they ran along underneath the bustling city above was prominent as steel blue eyes gazed over some documents. A sudden vibration broke their concentration and those eyes softened some at seeing the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Ah, Yokozawa. Can you talk right now?”

The salesman's gaze swept across the half filled car he was sitting in before turning his attention back to his phone. “I suppose so. Is something the matter, Masamune?”

“Nothing really. You weren't at your desk.”

“And I'm asking you if you needed anything?” Irritation was evident Yokozawa's voice, and he could hear Takano's amusement on the other line before the editor-in-chief even said anything.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to go out drinking tonight?”

“Ah...” Yokozawa paused, steel-blue eyes looking out the window as numerous posters stuck to the underground walls flew past his vision. “Maybe not. I'm on my way to a meeting and I have no idea when I'll be back.”

“Boo you suck.”

“Ha?!” The salesman gaped at his phone. “What's that?”

“I'm kidding. Don't get your panties in a twist.”Yokozawa frowned as the editor-in-chief continued. “Anyway, where are you going? To see that editor, was it?”

“Yes. I still need a few things from his end for the fair.” Steel-blue eyes looked up as an automated voice announced that his stop was next. “The meeting is at his place, since it would be too much of a hassle to chat through emails. I can't exactly talk with him over the phone either so...”

“Ah...” Takano sighed heavily in recognition. “This had better not turn into an epidemic. I already had to let one of my subordinates go on an extended leave for something similar.”

“...That was Kisa-san wasn't it?” Steel-blue eyes turned down as his tone softened in sympathy.

“Yea...” Takano's voice had a similar tone. “It's already been a month and a half since then. I'm gonna have to hire someone new if this keeps up.”

“Hm....” Yokozawa hummed, unable to find a way to respond to that.

“Anyway, I guess I'll see you later then.” Takano dismissed him, having to probably get back to his own work. “Text me.”

“I'm going to be in a meeting. How the hell do you expect me to text you?”

“I meant after, dumbass.” Takano bit out, but his words were too light to be threatening. “Learn to read inbetween the lines.”

“Whatever. I'm hanging up now.” Yokozawa cut off the line before the editor-in-chief could answer, tucking his phone back into his pocket. Steel-blue eyes peered out the window once more as he frowned, lost in thought...

 

“...And just what the hell are you doing here?” Yokozawa's eyebrow twitched when the face of someone familiar opened the door.

“That's not a very nice greeting, Yokozawa-san.” Yukina Kou frowned, but his expression held no actual dejection. “You haven't come by my store in so long and now this?”

“Those are two entirely different things.”

Yokozawa often made frequent trips to Yukina's store, Marimo Books, where the art student worked as a clerk supervising the shoujo manga section of the store. Yokozawa sold manga for a living, so it was no wonder that the two of them knew each other. And while the salesman wouldn't go so far as to call them friends, per se, he wouldn't refer to the two of them as just acquaintances either.

“Wow, Yokozawa-san's mad today.” Yukina teased, his ever-sparkling smile present as he opened the door wider to let the salesman inside. Such an act would usually have no small number of women fawning all over his prince-like character, but Yokozawa himself had never been one to be taken in by such things.

The salesman didn't bother to respond to Yukina's jab, deciding to let that statement go for now. “Anyway, why are you here? Did I get the address wrong?” He rifled in his bag some, looking for the slip of paper containing the editor's address.

“Nope. You're looking for Onodera-san, right?” The art student smiled as he patiently waited for the other man to come inside and remove his shoes.

“Ah yes, but how did you know?” One slender black brow rose in confusion.

“Because he told me.”

“But...” Yokozawa paused, looking up at Yukina to find that the student's usually bright copper eyes had suddenly dulled. “I thought that he was...”

“Deaf? Yes. Yes he is.” Yukina's smile faltered as he said this, something in his eyes akin to sympathy shining through, before the taller man changed the subject. “Anyway, follow me. I'll take you to him.”

Yokozawa opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out as his feet automatically followed the younger man. The inside of the spacious home looked even bigger than the outside, if that were at all possible. The floors were wooden and the walls of the numerous intersecting hallways were made of rich looking wood, adding to the regal look that the outside of the house had accomplished. Cinnamon and sand colors adorned the walls of the many rooms they passed by and the pleasant tones would have been very inviting, if not for the fact that all the curtains were closed in every single room for some reason...

They made their way out of the confusing hallways, and ended up in a huge room that housed a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The floors were polished and shiny, illuminated from the sun shining through the only open curtains that they had seen so far. Large windows that stretched halfway to the ceiling showed a magnificent garden in the courtyard just outside. Beyond that, there were even more windows which connected to another room in the house.

Yokozawa took a moment to stand in the large room that was easily twice the size of his own small apartment, feeling a bit overwhelmed. Steel-blue eyes roamed the interior of the dining room they were situated in, not knowing where to stop as there was just too much to look at.

“It's a bit much, isn't it?” Yukina asked from the side, causing the salesman to turn to him. “I thought so too, but it kind of grows on you after a while.” His young copper eyes gazed about, as if he were taking in the sight again for the first time along with Yokozawa.

“Indeed.” The salesman said. “I never would have pegged you to own a place like this.”

Yukina blinked for a moment before shaking his head, chuckling. “This place isn't mine. It's my brother's actually. He inherited the house after our uncle passed away.”

“I'm sorry to hear that.” Yokozawa sent his condolences, but Yukina just shook his head, not at all bothered. “...Is Onodera-san your brother?” Yokozawa looked puzzled.

“Hm? Oh, no. He's my niece's tutor. That's why he lives here with us.”

“You have a niece?” The salesman's tone was incredulous. Yukina was, after all, much younger than Yokozawa and the thought of someone so young already being an uncle had never crossed his mind before.

“Mhm.” Yukina nodded, a smile breaking through as sparkles shined near him at the thought of the precious little girl. “Hiyo-chan's already ten now.” He sighed, bringing his hands up to his chest as he reminisced while Yokozawa gaped next to him. If his niece was ten, then that meant that Yukina was only eleven when she was born. “She's growing up so fast, too! And she just loves to cook~!...What?”

The salesman was quiet for a moment before shaking his head. “Nothing...Anyway, weren't you leading me somewhere?”

“Oh, right. Sorry, this way.” Yukina perked up and walked out of the only other open door in the room, leading to another long hallway.

The silence stretched on as the art student casually led him once again. Meanwhile, a question was burning at the back of Yokozawa's throat that he was hesitating to ask...

...How exactly does one go about conversing with someone who's deaf? If Yokozawa was being honest, he'd say that he was feeling a bit nervous about this first meeting. He knew nothing about sign language, so how were the two of them going to communicate? There were a lot of things that he needed to go over with Onodera-san about for this fair and they needed to be able to communicate efficiently with each other to do that.

Normally Yokozawa worked exclusively with the selling of manga, but there was a big fair coming up that he and a couple others had been put in charge of that involved all of Marukawa Shoten's departments. The fair would showcase all that the company would have to offer to their customers and Onodera himself was in charge of a few literature authors, one of which whom was rapidly growing in popularity. So it was imperative that the two of them be on the same wavelength.

The salesman's eyebrows furrowed as he pondered, and before he knew it, they had arrived at their destination.

Yukina opened a door to reveal a medium-sized library. Books lined every wall and shelf in the well-lit room, with various figurines and other decorative items filling some of the empty spots. On the far end of the room, a young man sat at a table, hunched over some papers with a furrowed brow.

“Onodera-san!” Yukina called out, walking down a few steps to the lower end of the library. He paused after he said that, as if remembering something, before continuing towards the other man.

Green eyes didn't look up as they approached, only noticing that they were there when the taller of the two tapped his shoulder. “Yukina-san.” He greeted before that emerald gaze turned to Yokozawa and then to the watch at his wrist incredulously. “Is it that time already?”

“Yep!” Yukina confirmed, but also made sure to nod his head as well.

Yokozawa blinked, puzzled, as he looked Onodera over. He could speak exceptionally well for someone who couldn't hear himself talk. His steel-blue gaze shifted to Yukina as he introduced the two of them.

“Yokozawa-san, this is Onodera-san.” Yukina said, and it was at that moment that Yokozawa noticed that the art student was making sloppy movements with his hands.

Ritsu's green eyes were focused on those movements and a frown found it's way onto his face before he shook his head and turned his attention to the manga salesman. “Nice to meet you, Yokozawa-san.”

When the conversation suddenly aimed itself at him, Yokozawa hesitated with a response. “Ah, it's nice to meet you-” He opted to use his voice, seeing as Yukina did as well, but the editor cut him off.

“Again. Slower, please.” Ritsu asked, a light blush on his cheeks as he made his request. He motioned to his ears before shaking his head.

It was by this point that the more the brunette talked, the more Yokozawa noticed that Ritsu's voice was switching in volume between being normal to a bit louder than was expected in everyday conversation.

Those green eyes didn't seem to notice this, however, as they focused on Yokozawa's lips while the manga salesman hesitantly tried again at a slower pace. Ritsu nodded once he had finished, satisfied, before moving to organize the pages on the table to make room for his laptop.

When silence engulfed the library completely, Yukina leaned in and tapped Ritsu again, gaining his attention. The art student made a few more gestures with his hands before pointing behind him towards the door.

“Alright!” Ritsu nodded, understanding completely as Yokozawa blinked in confusion.

“I'll leave you two to it then.” Yukina filled in, noticing the salesman's confusion, as he turned to leave. “And don't be so afraid of Onodera-san. He won't bite.” He added as an afterthought.

“I'm not afraid!” Yokozawa defended himself but Yukina paid him no mind as he left, shutting the door quietly behind him...

The air instantly felt exceptionally thick in the room as the two of them were suddenly left alone, and Yokozawa frowned as the nerves he had felt earlier came back tenfold.

A hand abruptly tapped the manga salesman's arm, grabbing his attention out of the daze-like state it had been in, as Ritsu gave him a small smile before patting the seat next to him. The green-eyed editor turned back to his laptop as Yokozawa hesitantly sat down.

Steel-blue eyes watched curiously as Ritsu typed on his computer the conversation he would have said. The brunette was exceptionally thorough, answering a lot of Yokozawa had wanted to ask him immediately. In turn, the salesman chose to type as well on his own computer that he had brought, reviewing with the editor just what was expected of him and other details about the fair. To his surprise, Ritsu was exceedingly easy to work with, and although it took a lot longer to type out everything that they both wanted to say, Yokozawa found that he didn't mind.

It was through this way that a comfortable silence fell over the two of them, and no words were spoken in that library for the rest of the day...

 

A sudden tap at his shoulder brought Yokozawa's attention away from his laptop and those steel-blue eyes watched as Ritsu pointed at his own computer screen, showing the salesman the time. At this, the taller of the two startled some and looked down at his own watch. Had it already gotten that late?

Ritsu quickly tapped out a few words on his computer next to him.

Shall we end it here for the night?

The words were splayed across the brunette's computer screen as those emerald green eyes waited for the other man's response. Their gaze kept quickly shifting down to the clock on the screen and then back again to Yokozawa's document.

Yes, that will do for today. I still have a few things that I need to discuss with you, so shall we set up another appointment?

Ritsu nodded at this and brought out his planner and the two of them set up to meet each other again in a few days time.

The sound of bones cracking could be heard as Yokozawa stretched some when the two of them finally got up from their seats. He wasn't used to sitting around in a chair, usually preferring legwork as opposed to being stuffed in an office all day. His steel-blue eyes watched in curiosity as Ritsu didn't even bother to put his things away before motioning for Yokozawa to follow him out of the room, leaving the salesman with little choice but to do so.

The confusing hallways of the huge home seemed even more eerie now that the outside world was slowly descending to be bathed in darkness. Light was growing scarce as the two of them made their way through the dim maze, and Yokozawa quickened his pace at times so he wouldn't be separated from the shorter man.

Ritsu himself seemed to be was unperturbed by the dark environment, navigating the two of them swiftly. His behavior had not gone unnoticed by the manga salesman, who found it very odd that the seemingly polite brunette was suddenly rushing him out of the house. Yokozawa supposed, though, that it was getting late, after all, so then again maybe it wasn't all that unusual.

His brown leather loafers greeted him when the two of them reached the front door. They slipped onto his feet easily as Yokozawa turned to bid Ritsu farewell, but before he could, the door behind him opened abruptly.

“Geez!” Yokozawa frowned, narrowly avoiding being hit with the door as he had backed up just in time.

“Tadaima.” A distinctly familiar voice called, seemingly unperturbed by the near-accident, and Yokozawa watched in disbelief as Kirishima Zen tiredly walked through the door.

Copper met surprised steel-blue before a smug smile found it's way onto Kirishima's lips. “Oh, Yokozawa-san. To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you in my humble abode?” His words were light and teasing.  
A frown found it's way onto the salesman's lips as Yokozawa took in the sight of his coworker standing there. Kirishima was the editor-in-chief of their company's shonen manga division, Japun. Yokozawa sold the works that were edited by him, so they had a pretty close working relationship, but other than that they had never seen each other outside of their work environment until now.

“You own this house?” The words slipped out of Yokozawa's mouth incredulously before he could stop them, sounding a bit harsher than he intended. Kirishima had a tendency to tease the salesman at ever opportunity he got, and while it seemed fun for the editor-in-chief, it only caused numerous headaches for Yokozawa.

“Well if not I've been sleeping in the wrong bed every night.” Kirishima casually brushed past the prickly salesman to take off his shoes. Copper eyes looked up at Ritsu as the brunette waved at him, making a few signs with his hands. “Oh, so that's it.”

“What's it?” Confusion was evident on Yokozawa's face.

“Hm, you two had a meeting, right? What about?” The editor-in-chief's tone was as sweet as honey, but Yokozawa was still left with the feeling that the other man was mocking him.

“That's none of your business.”

“Oo, testy tonight, huh?”

If Yokozawa had any doubts that the guy was messing with him, they were now gone as Kirishima chuckled as he took off his light jacket. “Tch, anyway, why are you even interested in knowing? It was just a meeting.”

“Oh I'm not.” Kirishima hummed to himself as he fished his phone out from his back pocket. “I just wanted to rile you up a bit is all. Looks like it worked.” That smug grin was back in place as Yokozawa became even more irritated. “I never knew you were this easy.”

The salesman opened his mouth to retort back when Ritsu walked in between the two of them, surprising them both. The brunette grabbed Kirishima's attention before gesturing to his wrist.

Copper colored orbs darkened and a heavy sigh left Kirishima's lips before he turned his attention back to Yokozawa. “Anyway, it's pretty late now. You should run along home.”

Yokozawa opened his mouth to retaliate to that, detesting being spoken to like a child, but he held his tongue when his gaze connected with Kirishima's. He appeared much older than he actually was right then, like a great burden was weighing heavily upon him.

“...Alright. Have a good night.” Realizing that he had no leg to stand on, Yokozawa hesitantly bid them farewell before taking his leave. Confusion was splayed across those cerulean orbs as he took one last look at the dark home before disappearing into the night...

 

So is that everything?

I believe so, thank you for your continued cooperation.

Oh no-think nothing of it! Let me know if you need anything else!

Will do, and again, thank you.

Yokozawa closed his laptop as his last meeting with Ritsu came to an end, rubbing the stiff muscles at the back of his neck. The two of them had ended up meeting three times in total to be able to cover everything, but now they should be ready for the fair. Kirishima had not shown himself since that first night, which Yokozawa was grateful for. It had been quite a shock seeing him come home that day, and an even bigger one to learn that he and Yukina were siblings.

The art student himself found it even stranger still when Yokozawa admitted this to him the next time he came to the house. 'What do you mean you didn't know? Can't you tell?' Yukina had asked incredulously and Yokozawa had little choice to realize that he was right. The two of them did have the same eye and hair color after all, now that he thought about it...

Heavy rain splattering against the window caught Yokozawa's attention from his thoughts as he and Ritsu got up from their seats in the library. The sun was still up, but was covered by thick grey clouds that were crying down to the earth with their tears. The window panes flexed some as the strong gusts from outside blew harshly against them.

Ritsu didn't seem to notice this as he pushed in his chair before motioning for Yokozawa to follow him back to the entrance of the house for the last time. By now, the salesman had a grip on where to go to get from the front door to the library, but navigating to any other part of the house was still a mystery to him.

The salesman took up his bag as he made to follow Ritsu. Considering that it was just around seven or so, the probability of them meeting Kirishima on the way out was likely very high. Normally, editors at Marukawa had a abnormal schedule as compared to everyone else in the company. They usually came in somewhere around noon and didn't leave til at least nine or so, on a good day. Kirishima, though, had become a hot topic(well more so than he was already for his generously good looks and easy-going personality) because he had recently taken to going into work at the crack of dawn and leaving earlier than his subordinates.

For an editor to do this, let alone an editor-in-chief, was very unusual. It baffled a great number of employees why he would suddenly change his hours like that, but considering that Kirishima always got his work done, it was of little concern to the higher-ups.

Yokozawa absentmindedly checked his phone before putting it away into his pants pocket. There was an email message and one phone call from Takano, but answering them could wait until later. The sudden sound of thunder rumbling outside caused his eyebrows to furrow with it's close proximity, a frown marring his lips. He might have to end up borrowing an umbrella for the night with how bad the weather had gotten. It did say on the news that it would rain tonight, but the salesman didn't anticipate that it would turn out this bad.

When the two of them reached the genkan, there was already someone there, wringing out their own umbrella and literally soaked to the very bone. Yukina's breathing was coming out in pants, as if he had run all the way home, and considering the storm going on outside, he probably had.

Startled copper brown eyes looked upon the salesman. “Yokozawa-san? What are you still doing here?”

The salesman blinked, surprised by Yukina's tone. “Ah, sorry. Our meeting just finished so I'll be heading out now.”

“I don't think you should.” Yukina shook his head. “Haven't you heard the news? It's awful out there!” He paused, looking down at the ground as his breathing returned to normal. “You should stay here for the night.” Copper eyes shifted back outside when a particularly loud gust of wind hit the house. “Definitely.”

Yokozawa paused, gazing from the harsh rainfall and winds outside to Yukina's appearance. The normally crisp uniform that he wore to work now clung to him as his white shirt and blue apron were now several shades darker than they normally were from the rain water pouring heavily upon them. Even with the massive umbrella he had been carrying, it seemed that he still had gotten drenched.

“I'll be fine.” Yokozawa insisted. It would be undeniably rude to stay the night here, considering three of his coworkers too up residence within this home. “Ah, I will need to trouble you for an umbrella, though.”

“I said you're not going anywhere.” Yukina's copper eyes were hard, surprising the salesman as he had never seen the usually friendly brunette look so stern. “The entire area's been put under a state of emergency.” The student took out his phone and brought it up to his ear as he took off his shoes with one hand. “There's an actual typhoon out there-Ah, Zen? Where are you right now?” Yukina paused as his brother spoke to him over the phone. “What do you mean you're gonna be home any minute? There's a-!...I know but-”

The art student stalked past the two coworkers as he continued his conversation with Kirishima. The salesman frowned as he heard Yukina argue from the other room before his steel-blue eyes turned to Ritsu, having forgotten that the brunette was still there with all the commotion going on. A confused frown was placed over the editor's face as he watched Yukina pace back and forth through the doorway.

Realizing something, Yokozawa took his own phone from his pocket and opened up a message. He typed out a few words before grabbing Ritsu's attention and showing the brunette his text explaining his and Yukina's conversation thus far. The editor hesitantly took the phone from Yokozawa's hands, reading silently.

Feeling eyes on him, Yokozawa turned his gaze up and found Yukina staring at him through the doorway. “What?” The salesman asked, not liking the look that the art student was giving him, but Yukina only shook his head before turning his attention back to his phone.

A sudden tap on his shoulder brought Yokozawa's attention back to Ritsu as the brunette handed him his phone before moving to join Yukina in the next room. A frown found it's way onto Yokozawa's lips as the two of them signed to each other before they both turned to stare at the salesman. Awkward blue eyes looked away from them, shifting from foot to foot. He felt like he definitely didn't belong in this house at that moment and desperately wished to leave if only to get away from their suddenly judgmental stares.

“Yokozawa-san.” Yukina called out to the salesman as he came over to him, his phone still in hand. “Come with me, I'll show you where you can stay tonight.”

A twitch found it's way onto Yokozawa's eyebrow as he scowled. “I told you I'll be fine-”

“Please don't argue with me.” Yukina's tone had lost it's edge from earlier and he now sounded more exhausted than anything else. “Just come on.”

Yokozawa paused, copper and steel-blue just staring at one another. “Is Kirishima-san alright with this?” The man did own the house, after all, and he wouldn't stay without his permission.

“I...Yea. Here.” The art student handed over his phone to Yokozawa then. Steel-blue eyes looked over the caller ID photo of Kirishima before he put the device up to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Ah, Yokozawa. Being a good boy, I hope?”

Yokozawa's eyes hardened and he tensed up angrily. “You-!”

“As much as I'd love to banter with you I'm a little short on time.” The editor-in-chief cut him off, causing a frown to form on Yokozawa's face. If he didn't have the time, they why did he start shit? “I assume the reason we're talking now is because you want to stay over, yea?”

“I never said I wanted to.” Yokozawa griped back. “In fact, I'd rather take my leave for the night.”

“I'm afraid I can't really condone that. All the subway cars are closed for the night, after all.”

Yokozawa paused at this, his gaze shifting to outside, where the weather seemed to be growing even worse. He would likely not be able to get home if what Kirishima was saying were true.

Taking the salesman's silence as consent, Kirishima continued, “Alright, well it's fine by me if you stay. I mean, it's not like any of us have work tomorrow since it's a Friday night. Yukina will set things up for you so just do me a favor and listen to everything he says, will you?”

Yokozawa blinked at the finality in Kirishima's voice before his eyes turned to Yukina, who had been patiently standing off to the side during their conversation. The art student was tense as he stood there and he was lightly swaying from foot to foot anxiously. Yokozawa opened his mouth but no words came out as his steel-blue eyes looked past Yukina to peer at Ritsu, but was surprised to find that the brunette had suddenly vanished from the room.

Yokozawa frowned, seeing no other options for him right now. “Fine, I'll stay but-”

“Great. So have a good night, and I'll see you tomorrow.” And with that, the line was cut, leaving Yokozawa feeling very confused. Hadn't he said earlier that he was coming home soon? So why was Kirishima saying that they wouldn't see each other again until tomorrow?

Ignoring it for now, the manga salesman turned his attention back to Yukina before hesitantly nodding, handing the man back his phone. “I'll take you up on your offer tonight, but-!” Yokozawa startled as Yukina didn't even let him finish his sentence before grabbing onto his wrist and pulling the older man with him quickly back into the deeper recesses of the house.

“Hey! Don't just drag me around as you please-!”

“I'm sorry but we don't have a lot of time.” Yukina said as he rushed the two of them down the halls.

“A lot of time for what exactly?” Yokozawa asked, irritated, as he tried to wrench his wrist back, but Yukina had a firm grip on him. They passed by a spacious-looking kitchen that appeared to be rather tasteful in it's design, but the salesman was granted no time to admire it as Yukina continued to drag him further on.

The salesman was practically panting when the younger man stopped them in front of a door. “Here's your room for tonight.” Yukina opened the door to reveal a modest looking bedroom with a large bed with a blue comforter and a matching canopy above it. The walls were white with blue vine designs at the top near the ceiling. A wardrobe, desk, television, vanity and even a couch were situated along with the bed. The entire room looked like it belonged in a fancy hotel instead of in someone's home.

Yokozawa didn't take long to admire the elegant room given to him before turning his irritated glare at Yukina. “Are you going to explain why you felt the need to drag me here?” His question demanded an answer from the tone he used.

“Don't worry about it.” Yukina just brushed off the threat with a smile that was too forced to be real as he goaded Yokozawa to get into the room. Steel-blue eyes were set in a glare as the salesman refused to move, Kirishima's instructions be damned. “Look, I....can't exactly explain right now but I promise to later alright?” One slender black brow rose on Yokozawa's face. “I'll bring you an extra set of clothes in a little bit and just call me if you need anything. You have my number right?” Yokozawa didn't have a chance to respond to the man's question as Yukina continued. “Just please, please, do not leave this room tonight. I know that I'm not making sense but you have to trust me on this.”

“Alright, geez, I get it.” Yokozawa griped, backing up some as Yukina went to grab his shoulders, practically begging for the salesman to understand. “I won't leave, alright?”

Relief visibly washed over Yukina's face as Yokozawa promised this. “Okay, goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow.” And with that, the heavy wooden doors to the salesman's temporary room were closed as Yukina left.

A frown found it's way onto Yokozawa's face as he could hear Yukina's rushed steps running down the hallway back to the main entrance to the house, the salesman's thoughts running wild. Just what exactly was going on with the people in this house?

 

A few hours later found Yokozawa completely awake laying down in the plush bed that he was borrowing for the night. Rain splattered against the large floor-to-ceiling window across from him as his cerulean eyes watched restlessly.

Yukina had come back hours ago to give him a change of clothes for the night, and judging by how they were a bit big on him, the salesman guessed that they either belonged to Yukina himself or Kirishima. Those two were almost inhuman with their height, even towering over Yokozawa, who's own 180cm was clearly nothing to sneeze at.

Yokozawa quietly listened as the large house creaked to settle itself in for the night. There had been a lot of noise going on when he had first been shown to his room, but now it had all gone eerily quiet for some reason. The salesman had earlier returned Takano's call after everything had settled down, hoping that his best friend could distract him from the tense feeling that was looming throughout the household. The editor-in-chief, though, hadn't been much for conversation as Yokozawa's phone had passed away shortly after.

The manga salesman turned to lay on his back, staring up at the dark blue satin canopy above him. He had never been one for such regal eccentricities, his own apartment barely having anything in it besides what it came with. So he felt like the whole experience was being wasted on his simplistic tendencies.

Steel-blue eyes turned to look at the clock hanging on the wall, finding it to be a while after midnight. Surely by now everyone had gone to sleep, and with this in mind Yokozawa got up from his bed. He really needed to find a restroom, and the fact that he was starving wasn't going to help him sleep either.

Yukina had warned him not to leave this room, and had advised him multiple times to contact him if he needed something, but Yokozawa's phone was dead and there was no way for him to contact Yukina even if he had wanted to. Besides, the art student was probably dead asleep by now anyway.

One of the heavy wooden doors to his room creaked open slowly as he peered outside into the hallway before stepping out. Dark curtains fluttered in from the breeze outside as the rain continued to hammer against the house. Yokozawa paused for a second, immediately feeling like he was trespassing for some reason, but he tampered that feeling down, reasoning with himself that he could just explain his actions should he run into anyone.

Moonlight illuminated him in spurts as he continued his trek through the hallway, opening up doors carefully so as not to disturb anyone that might be inside. The farther he went through the hallways, the more a sense of foreboding started to come over him. His back would tense every time he opened up a door, expecting something to be lurking just on the other side.

After a few more doors, relief flooded into him in a flash as he found the restroom, closing the door behind him. All the tension released itself from Yokozawa as the lights to the bathroom turned on, their bright glow bringing some comfort to him as he went about his business.

When finished, the dread from before that unconsciously seeped into his bones came back tenfold as he once again stepped out into the dark hallway. “Now which...?” He spoke to himself, looking left and right as he tried to remember which way he had come from when a sudden sour smell found it's way into his nostrils that had not been there before.

One dark eyebrow rose as the manga salesman turned his head in the direction of where it was coming from. With hesitant feet, Yokozawa followed the smell cautiously as curiosity got the better of him. Further along down the hallway, one door was ajar slightly, moonlight streaming out from the open crack.

Yokozawa braced himself suddenly, rising to his full height as he reached out for the door, opening it slowly as he peered inside. Steel-blue eyes widened tremendously as he came upon an above ground wine-cellar. Tons of wine were situated upon wooden shelving, and the room was have been exceedingly tasteful in it's setup, just like the rest of the house. Yokozawa, though, couldn't even bring himself to admire the room as his shaky steel-blue gaze was focused on the numerous wine bottles that were broken haphazardly on the floor. Jagged glass covered the floor and shelves as red liquid coated the walls and floors. A large gash ran across one of the shelves, leaving the wood just barely held together.

A sudden streak of lightning lit up the room, causing him to notice that a few of the wines bottles were turned over, still pouring red liquid out onto the floor from glasses that were still half-full. Yokozawa backed up quietly, a lump in his throat as his startled blue eyes shifted left and right down the hallway as he came to the stunning realization that whomever had destroyed this room...had done so recently.

Thoughts running wild, the blackette quickly headed back in the direction that he came from, his footsteps quiet against the carpeting. The hallways confused him in his current paranoid state as he searched for his room, dread sinking into the pit of his stomach as he regretted his decision to disobey Yukina.

“Ah!” A startled sound left his throat as he stumbled and nearly fell on his face from a sudden bump hitting his foot. 'What the hell?' He thought to himself as he winced in pain, tentatively reaching down to check his ankle. No liquid greeted his fingers as he checked his skin, but the warmth that was spreading over the abused area no doubt meant that there was a small wound there. Yokozawa ignored it for now as he hesitantly moved closer to the object that had tripped him. Deep gashes in the floor and carpet greeted him as another streak of lightning lit up the sky, the claw marks pulling up the stiff carpet from the wood flooring.

Yokozawa's back hit the wall behind him as he backed up, a nervous sweat breaking out over his pale skin as he saw the claw marks continue down the hall. Each one was spaced out evenly, as if a large clawed creature had been making it's way through the house. Without thinking, Yokozawa quickly headed back in the other direction, almost running by this point as he wanted nothing more than to return to the confined safety of his room.

The soft sounds of someone talking caught his attention as he passed by another intersecting hallway and he paused, turning back around as the soft glow of a light caught his attention. Without slowing down, Yokozawa headed towards the light before stopping abruptly, his mind catching up with his actions. The salesman peered inside the room the hallway led to, finding that his feet had taken him to the kitchen.

The glow from earlier turned out to be the kitchen lights and Yokozawa visibly calmed down some when he realized that the conversation he had been hearing came from Kirishima.

“So things will be slowing down at work now, Hiyo, so I'll be able to spend a little bit more time with you.”

Kirishima's voice had a tenderness to it that Yokozawa had never heard before, causing the salesman to pause.

'...Who's Hiyo?' The salesman couldn't help wondering briefly as he stood up straighter to walk into the kitchen. Even if he would be interrupting, Kirishima had a right to know just what was going on in his household. The man would probably laugh at Yokozawa, but it was a risk he was willing to take for the safety of himself and everyone else in the house.

Rounding the corner, steel-blue eyes were puzzled when they didn't immediate land on Kirishima in the country-esque looking kitchen. Yokozawa frowned as he still could hear the man talking clearly in the room, though.

“Anyway, Hiyo. I'll talk to you later princess. I love you. Goodnight.”

One slender black eyebrow rose as Yokozawa followed the sound of the man's voice, but all it led him to was a laptop sitting atop a wood furnished breakfast bar. His cerulean eyes blinked when he found a paused video of Kirishima still open on the computer.

“Ah, hello! You scared me.”

Yokozawa quickly tensed and turned around, searching for the source of the sudden voice that he heard. His steel gaze landed on a young girl standing behind him, a smile on her cute round face as she gazed up at him. Her hair was a deep red, the dark strands being pulled back into a ponytail with roses fitted where the elastic band should be. She also had green designs on her arms and legs from what he hoped was just marker. Her eyes were a warm copper, reminding him of Kirishima's as she stood there, her height coming up to his chest.

“Are you Yokozawa-san?”

Surprise flitted across his face as he calmed himself down a bit. “Oh, uh, yes.”

“I knew it.” The little girl said as she skirted passed him, not at all intimidated by the jumpy giant as she turned off the computer on the bar. “Papa told me all about you in his message. Is it alright if I call you 'Yokozawa-oniichan'?”

“Ah, I suppose I don't mind.” Yokozawa said, forgetting his earlier worries as he was sucked into the girl's friendly ambitions almost immediately. “But I didn't quite catch your name?”

“Oh I'm sorry!” She brought her hands up to her mouth, copper eyes wide. “It's a pleasure to meet you.” She bowed some. “My name's Kirishima Hiyori, but you can call me Hiyo-chan if you want.” She smiled then, her expression cheerful.

Steel-blue eyes blinked as he heard the little redhead's last name, coming to realize something. “Ah, Hiyo-chan would your papa be... Kirishima-san?” He knew that this was a rather stupid thing to ask, considering the two of them had the exact same name and lived together, but he wanted to confirm this.

“Uh-huh!” She nodded and he frowned. He had never heard of the guy having a daughter before, and was therefore left momentarily stunned by this little piece of information. Going by this, Yokozawa could also guess that Hiyori was the sweet little niece that Yukina had been talking about earlier as well. His head momentarily spun as he made these connections.  
“Yokozawa-oniichan.” Hiyo called, breaking him out of his daze. “Would you like some water? Is that why you're up so late?” Her copper eyes brimmed with curiosity as she blinked up at him.

“Ah, but couldn't I say the same for you?” Steel-blue eyes peeked up at the clock, finding that it was nearing one thirty in the morning.

The warm auburn tones of Hiyo's eyes darkened a bit at this question before she forced herself to brighten up again. “Um...no. I can't really sleep that well at night lately.” Just then a ping sounded, causing her to turn to the oven. “So I've been sleeping during the day and staying up all night!”

Yokozawa frowned at this. “That's not good for you.” He chastised lightly, watching with mild curiosity as she pulled a cake out with her pink oven mitts. “You should at least try to fall asleep at night if you can.”

“I know...” Hiyo's voice was quiet as she set the hot cake down on the stove top.

Yokozawa opened his mouth to say more but he found himself unable to as he watched her quietly take off her mitts, her head turned down low as she closed the oven door. “Ah...” He caught her attention, stepping closer to her without thinking. “So... what are you baking?” He threw out a simple question, hoping to change the subject.

This tactic worked easily as a smile went onto the little girl's face almost instantly. “I'm making a cake for everyone to eat tomorrow!”

“Is there any special occasion?” Yokozawa asked, eyes softening as she talked so excitedly to him. Steel-blue eyes curiously curiously peeked over the dessert and was surprised to find that it was very well made.

The little girl shook her head. “I just love to cook so I've been practicing my cakes.” Hiyo admitted, humming a bit to herself as she skirted over to one of the cupboards to pull out some ingredients. The cupboard was filled with all kinds of different colored frosting and baking utensils. When the little girl didn't find what she wanted, she opened another small door beside it to reveal even more cute baking tools. Had Kirishima really bought her all of this? “I've been messing up with the frosting lately.” She turned to him then, her eyes hopeful. “Ah! Would you like to help, Yokozawa-oniichan?”

Yokozawa's moved to say yes before he stopped himself, having remembered why he had come in here in the first place. “Of course, Hiyo-chan, but first could you show me where your Papa is? I need to talk to him about something immediately.” His voice was soft but also held an urgency to it.

“Papa should be sleeping by now.” Her little copper orbs flicked to the clock before settling back on the salesman. She watched as he seemed to tense up all of a sudden and his gaze flickered around the room.

“I really need to talk with him, Hiyo-chan, I think there's an emergency going on.”

She brought a hand up to her mouth. “Oh, um, okay! I'll take you to his room!” She quickly moved to step around him to show him the way but paused as she caught sight of a lurking figure coming up behind Yokozawa. “Actually nevermind. He's right here... Papa!” She smiled as she called to him.

“Huh?” Yokozawa asked, one eyebrow raised as he turned to look where Hiyo was gazing. Before he could, though, a startled yell forced itself out of his mouth as something big and black shot up at him to cover his eyes. 

The salesman's hands immediately reached to grab hold of the thing that had covered his vision, shuddering when he found his fingers sinking into what felt like fur. An arm circled around his waist to bring him backwards into a soft chest, and it was by that point that panic started to set in. His fingernails dug into the skin of the offending appendage attached to him as he thrashed against the hold he was put in.

“Yokozawa-oniichan...” He could hear Hiyo's little voice next to his side. “Oniichan! It's alright it's just Pa-!”

Hiyo paused when an angered growl could be heard from the being behind Yokozawa, the sound causing the salesman to tense up in fear. He could feel the creature's breath puffing against the dark strands on top of head as it held him in its vice-like grip. A terrified gulp made its way down the salesman's throat as he was held from behind, tensing up and stilling in its grasp.

“Put him down, Papa! You're scaring Oniichan!”

Uncertainty flitted through Yokozawa as shallow breaths left his parted lips. Had he just heard Hiyori say what he thought she did? Something cold hitting the bottoms of his feet startled him as he was set down on the ground, having not even realized he had been picked up off of it in the first place. The constricting grip on his waist loosed as the large arm pulled away, but one large furry hand still remained firmly over his steel-blue orbs.

“Papa.” Hiyori's voice reprimanded the creature behind him, only growing the fire of confusion in Yokozawa. Hadn't she said earlier that Kirishima was her father? What was going on? He was so  
centered around his thoughts that he didn't notice Hiyori calling out to him until his hand was taken into two petite ones.

“Oniichan, Papa's going to let go of you now, but you have to promise to keep your eyes closed, ne?”

Yokozawa tried to calm his breathing down, not answering immediately for a few moments before he hesitantly nodded the best that the creature behind him would allow.

“Oniichan, kneel down a bit?” An icy shudder forced it's way down Yokozawa's spine as there was a pressure at his back as a hand pushed him down gently some, leaving the blackette with no room to object.

Almost as soon as Yokozawa knelt on the kitchen tiles, the black mass covering his eyes left him in a hurried rush as those smaller hands from earlier took their place. His eyes shifted in the darkness that Hiyori's hands blinded him with as lumbering heavy footsteps retreated behind him.

Humans are curious creatures, and that necessity to know and learn often leads them to their own demise. Even knowing this, that passion burned within Yokozawa like no other, and he wanted nothing more than to look behind him and see just what on Earth that had been. It was obviously taller than him, and had black...paws? It also walked on two feet, or at least he hoped that it did. And what Hiyori had said?... She had called it Papa, like she would when addressing her father, but was that thing really Kirishima? No, it couldn't have been. No way in hell.

The softest touch against his forehead broke Yokozawa's incessant wondering as Hiyori touched her head to his. “I'm sorry, Oniichan. We didn't mean to scare you, so please don't be mad at Papa. He didn't mean it.” The little girl sounded distressed as she spoke to him, and something in his chest tightened from hearing her. Without thinking, his arms reached up to cover themselves over the little girl's.

“I'm not mad Hiyo.” The darkness in front of his eyes disappeared as he gently moved Hiyori's hands away from his gaze. Her little face was saddened as she stared eye-level with him. He chose his next words carefully and spoke in a gentle tone, his head swimming. “But please...tell me what's going on. I don't understand.”

Hiyori froze in front of him, her copper eyes turned to the floor.

“Please...” Yokozawa tried again, but she only shook her head.

“I can't tell you. I promised Papa and Uncle Kou...” The little girl bit her lip as she wrung her hands together in front of her.

Yokozawa sighed at this, looking off to the side before trying a different approach. “Can you at least tell me then, how you got these?” He gestured to the green stem designs on her arms and sides. When he had grabbed her hands earlier, there was no doubt in his mind that they weren't from markers. They were a part of her skin. Just knowing this made him incredibly angry as he wondered just what the hell was going through Kirishima and Yukina's heads.

Small copper orbs looked up into his steel-blue gaze before turning away again as Hiyori shook her head, remaining firm.

Having had enough, Yokozawa got up from the floor, causing Hiyo to look up at him in confusion. “I'm going to find that 'Papa' of yours, Hiyo. You stay here.”

Yokozawa had never thought himself to be very maternal. He had a cat, Sorata, and he had never felt the need to baby him, but there was something about this little girl that just made him want to protect and nurture her. He didn't know where it was coming from, but he couldn't just stand by when an innocent child could be in danger, and as scared and confused as he may have been on the inside, he couldn't stop himself from turning to follow after the creature from before. He needed answers, and he was willing to get them whether that thing was Kirishima or not.

“Wait, Oniichan!” Hiyo latched onto his hand before he could go any further. “You can't!”

“Hiyo. Please, just stay here. I'll be right back.” He placed a hand on her head before taking off into the deeper recesses of the house, leaving the little girl behind.

 

After searching many dark hallways and empty rooms, Yokozawa found himself quickly out of breath as he stood in the large ballroom. Rain continued to crescendo against the glass panels of the windows in front of him as he stopped to regain his breath. How had something so massive managed to give him the slip so fast? It didn't make any sense.

The salesman pressed a hand to his forehead, leaning against a wall as his thoughts ran rampant. If that thing really was Kirishima, which he highly doubted, then what in the hell happened? He had just talked to the guy on the phone earlier and had seen him at his work station this morning. Kirishima had seemed fine then, so what had changed? Was this the reason why Yukina and Onodera acted the way they did before? If so, then why haven't they done anything about this? It was all so confusing and he didn't know where to start. Should he just...call the police? Even if that thing wasn't Kirishima, there was still a dangerous animal on the premises here. Plus, Hiryori, a little girl, was here too. She would be in the worst danger out of all of them if that thing suddenly turned violent...

Resolving to call the police seeing as there was very little he could do on his own, Yokozawa went to turn around and head back to the kitchen when his steel-blue gaze caught onto a large hulking figure approaching from the hallway on the opposite side of the ballroom. The salesman backed up, watching in wonder as he saw that the being's height nearly reached the ceiling. Yokozawa hid within the shadows of the dark room as he watched the figure walk in, tensing as he prepared himself to hold his ground if it saw him. His gaze shook as he saw clawed talons open one the doors that led out into the courtyard, not noticing the salesman's presence at all.

Yokozawa placed a hand on the wall next to him as he watched the creature continue it's trek across the yard before it abruptly stopped in the middle, looking up at the sky as the rain washed over him. The salesman hesitantly approached the creature from inside the ballroom, the sound of rain exceedingly loud as he came closer to the open door. 

Steel-blue eyes watched in silence as the figure stood there, making out two long golden-brown ears and a matching fox tail adorning the creature's body. It was only wearing a pair of pants, which did nothing to shield it from the heaps of rain splattering upon it. Sweat rolled off of Yokozawa in waves as his feet suddenly moved without his permission, something drawing him towards the large figure that he had no control over.

Water immediately soaked him, the white shirt he had been wearing clinging to his skin as his bare feet trekked through the soft mud and grass. His bangs clung to his forehead and face as they drowned in water, but he paid this no mind as Hiyori's words from earlier flashed past his ears. She had called this creature 'Papa', but there was no way that this thing and Kirishima could be the same. Even so, those thoughts didn't stop him from speaking.

“Kirishima...san?” His mouth moved on it's own before he even knew what he was saying as the rain pelted the two of them from up above, his voice but a small whisper among all the chaos. Yokozawa immediately regretted his words as soon as he said them, wishing that the rain had washed them away as he realized just what exactly he was doing. A brown fox ear twitched, however, before the creature rounded on him suddenly, making Yokozawa's heart jump into his throat.

A lion's face stared at him cruelly from atop those high shoulders, making the normally stoic and intimidating salesman back up a step under their gaze. Yokozawa's gaze shifted from the creature's copper eyes to the different fox and lion features it had. The face, mane, paws and legs seemed to be a lion's while the creature's ears, tail and coloring looked like a fox.

The leering creature took a step towards Yokozawa then and the salesman backed up more, terror rising quickly within him as everything from this evening was coming to crash down on his nerves. The being stopped, its own copper eyes raking up and down Yokozawa's form, causing the man to shiver as it appeared to be looking over its prey.

It took another step towards Yokozawa then and the salesman immediately moved to bolt back into the ballroom and escape. What on Earth had possessed him to follow the creature outside and then call out to it? There was no way this thing was Kirishima. He knew that, and yet he had still approached this creature that could clearly kill him if it wanted to.

A large clawed hand curling around his own stopped Yokozawa from moving any further and the salesman immediately turned his gaze back around to stare at the creature, terrified steel-blue eyes looking up into calm copper as he struggled. Another black paw seized Yokozawa's other hand as the creature gently pulled the salesman toward him.

Yokozawa's feet sank into the mud beneath them as he was pulled by his hands towards the lion-fox. He tried to pull away from the creature's grip but it just held on to him gently, those expressive copper orbs staring down at the struggling salesman until his strength waned. Yokozawa breathed heavily, exhausted and frightened from everything that had happened thus far. Steel-blue eyes closed themselves impossibly tight as Yokozawa realized that he couldn't escape.

Soft fur touched his forehead, causing the salesman to blink his eyes open in confusion. Deep, limitless auburn met his gaze as the creature's eyes connected with his own, doing nothing but staring into scared steel-blue.

Yokozawa gulped down the lump in his throat quietly as his gaze turned to look away. A quiet hum left the creature’s throat at this and it pushed its forehead the tiniest bit harder against Yokozawa's, forcing the salesman to look back at those eyes again. The sound of the rain around them faded away into nothing as the blackette stared, captivated. His hands shook within those massive black paws before the creature's hands tightened around his own, stopping the salesman's quivers.

Yokozawa's lips parted, wanting to say something, anything, but before he could, a small yelling voice broke through the surreal haze the two of them had been shrouded in.

“PAPA! ONIICHAN!” Hiyo yelled from behind the creature, causing Yokozawa to look over it's shoulder at her. She was standing in the open doorway to the kitchen on the other side of the courtyard, cupping her hands against her mouth to be heard against the pouring rain.

Yokozawa slowly pulled his gaze away from her to look back at the creature before him, staring once again into those copper eyes that looked so much like Hiyori's. It blinked and nudged his forehead again, and it was in that moment that there was no doubt in his mind that this creature was definitely Kirishima.

 

~Random Shorts~(All Couples Do It)

A sigh left Ritsu's lips as the morning sun cast itself into the bedroom. Beautiful emerald green eyes blinked open, not at all surprised to find a himself snuggled against a hard chest as it had a routine as of late. The editor looked up at his boss, Takano Masamune, as the older man slept on with Ritsu firmly secured in his embrace. The editor-in-chief definitely loved to cuddle the brunette whenever he got the chance. 

The brunette sighed, peering over his shoulder at the clock on the wall to find that the two of them still had a while before they had to get up, but Ritsu wasn't about to just sit here all day. The two of them weren't in a relationship(no matter how much Takano might think so). Ritsu had to get up and go back to his own apartment.

The editor turned around in the older man's embrace, preparing himself to get up from the warm sanctuary of the bed, when something reached his nostrils.

“Oh! God!” Onodera's face scrunched up in disgust and he turned away as the smell from Takano's fart ninjaed it's way into his nose. He could have sworn he saw the bed sheets rise up from the sheer force of the stink.

“Hm? What?” Takano mumbled as he woke up to his lover's distress. “What's the matter?” His voice was low and raspy with sleep.

“You-!” Onodera ripped himself out of the older man's embrace. “You are disgusting.”

“C'mon it's not that bad.” Takano pulled Ritsu back into his arms before he could get up, forcing the smaller man to lay against his chest. “You do it to, you know. You're even worse than I am.”

“I am not! Now let go of me!”

“Hm, no I don't think so. I think you'll fester in my stink forever.!” Takano playfully roared and pulled them both under the covers, where the worst stink of all resided.

“Augh!”

 

Yukina swept his fingers through Kisa's hair as the two of them relaxed on the couch in the older man's apartment. The tv flashed before their eyes as the couple watched, finally enjoying some alone time from work together.

“Ne, Kisa-san...” Yukina turned to the blackette to say something but Kisa only got up from the couch in response. A frown marred Yukina's handsome features as he watched his lover walk to the other side of the room and stand there. “Kisa-san, what's the matter?”

“Just don't worry about it.” Kisa said in response, crossing his arms as he stood there for a few more moments before coming back into Yukina's embrace.

Yukina welcomed his boyfriend back, but a confused expression still remained on his features. He opened his mouth to ask again why he had done that before some permeated his nostrils.

“Kisa-san!” Yukina cried, pulling his shirt up over his nose to protect himself from the stink. “It followed you!”

“I tried! I'm sorry!” Kisa admitted, shrugging and giving the younger man an apologetic look.

 

Yokozawa Takafumi looked over a few pieces of paperwork in his hands as he rode the subway car to his lover's apartment, where Hiyo was waiting for them. A yawn from his side caught his attention and those steel-blue orbs glanced over at Kirishima, who sat right beside him, going through his phone.

Yokozawa shifted his gaze back to his own documents, actually enjoying the small moment of quiet between them. Usually they were always bickering about something, so this was a nice change of pace. All too soon though, something sounded off to his side before an all too familiar smell drifted up to him.

“Please tell that you did not just do that.” Yokozawa ground out in a calm manner, but his tone said wonders about his irritation.

“Hey, I'm not about to hold them in. That ruins your health, you know?” Kirishima didn't seem at all effected by his own bodily functions assaulting his nostrils. “What? Do you want me to hurt myself?”

“Sometimes I do, yes.” Yokozawa admitted as he couldn't help but bring one of his hands up to plug his nose. It smelt like fucking sewer! “Jesus christ, what did you fucking eat?!”

“Hiyo made a beans and rice dish last night, so I ate some of the left overs for lunch.” Kirishima shrugged, not taking his eyes off of his phone as he played Candy Crush. “Nobody seemed bothered by it today except for you.”

“Have some self control, would you? Don't just expose your employees to something like that!”

Kirishima only shrugged in response. “I know you do it to. Just because I haven't smelt one so far, doesn't mean you don't do it.”

“That's because I have the decency to hold it in around you!”

“Aw, you do that for me?” Kirishima bat his eyelashes at his special one before another fart unconsciously left him, causing him to laugh despite himself.

“My God, I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“Sometimes I wish I didn't.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys so I just wanted to point out before I say anything else: the couple of Hatori and Chiaki will not be in this story. I forgot to write that last time so I'm putting it here. There are two reasons why they will not be in my story. For one: It would be too many characters to write about. I don't wanna spread myself any thinner than I already am with this story by adding more characters. And for two: Domestica is my least favorite couple out of the entire Sekaiichi Hatsukoi lineup. So I apologize to any Domestica fans out there, but that is my reasoning for not having them.
> 
> I would love it soooo so much if you guys would leave a review for me if you can! As always, I hope that you enjoyed! Ja ne!
> 
> Next time: Kisa re-enters, Takano finally appears and finds himself drawn to Ritsu.
> 
> ~Migoto Nami


	3. The Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Sekaiichi Hatsukoi and Yokozawa Takafumi no Baai are owned by Shungiku Nakamura and Fujisaki Miyaki. I own nothing. This story was inspired by Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
> 
> Songs Listened to When Writing: Spanish Lady by Celtic Woman, Dulaman by Celtic Woman, Noble Maiden Fair as sung by Ashley Serena ft Karliene
> 
> *For anyone who is confused: In this story, Yukina and Kirishima are brothers. They don't have the same last name because Kirishima took his late wife's surname when they got married.
> 
> **Also for anyone who is confused, the two biggest rooms in Kirishima's house are the ballroom and the kitchen. They are both across from each other and have a courtyard in between them. Hope this helps!

Soft snoring filled the room as the couple occupying the bed slept on, unaware of the hulking carnivore leaning over the two of them. A large, sharp nail slowly descended towards the couple, poking one of them with utmost care.

Almost instantly, the smaller of the two startled, hands flying up to entangle themselves in soft fur. Kisa Shouta visibly relaxed at their familiar touch. “Kirishima-san?” A surprised whisper left the blackette's mouth, mindful of the soft snoring next to him.

“Is it morning? What's going on?” Kisa sat up slowly, his ebony eyes remained locked tightly away by his eyelids as he reached out to his sleeping lover, a sigh escaping him just from the feeling of touching Yukina.

The lion-fox didn't answer as a clawed hand pulled the smaller man to stand up as gently as possible. Before Kisa could protest, Kirishima made the sign language symbol for the letter 'K' as best he could with his clawed fingers and pressed it against the other man's palms.

Confusion clearly spread across Kisa's face before another clawed hand was placed on his back, gently guiding him to the door. Kirishima moved his fingers again, spelling out more letters.

“Kitchen?” A frown was splayed against Kisa's face as Kirishima brought the blackette's hand up to rest against one of his furred cheeks, nodding his head enthusiastically.

“...Why?”

The lion-fox didn't answer as he softly pushed Kisa in the direction of the kitchen. Hesitance was clearly shown in the younger man for a few moments before he slowly reached out and put his hand against one of the walls, keeping his fingers against the smooth surface as he made the dark trek alone.

Copper eyes watched silently for a few moments before heading back inside the couple's room. A brown fox ear twitched as he heard the quiet draws of mumbled words.

“Mmm...Kisa-san~” The art student sighed to himself, snuggling up further into the covers as his elder brother watched on. A small bit of jealousy shown in those copper eyes for a moment before Kirishima flipped on the lights to the room, causing Yukina to stir.

Heavy footfalls sounded against the carpeting as Kirishima calmly walked over to his brother's bed. Large paws reached out towards the mattress before unceremoniously flipping it over with a thud.

“Mmmm...” A moan left Yukina's mouth, more affected by the bright lights than the pain of being tossed on the floor, as he continued to doze.

Hesitance and regret shown in Kirishima's eyes as he came to realize something before quickly shaking it off as he saw that his brother was unhurt by the fall. Clawed feet stepped closer before the lion-fox knelt down next to his brother, taking a few pieces of golden brown hair up and away from Yukina's ear before taking in a large breath.

 

Exhausted steel blue eyes turned towards the sound of a strident roar tearing through the house followed by screaming from what sounded like...a woman?

“Oniichan! Here.” Hiyori's sing-song voice floated up into his ears, holding a warm cup of coffee up to him.

“Ah...thank you, Hiyo.” Yokozawa said in gratitude as he accepted the drink from her tiny hands. The little girl seemed cheerful enough, seemingly unhindered by the unbridled crescendo of tension building between the two adults in the room.

Steel eyes flickered to Ritsu, watching the man get a drink for himself out of the fridge. The literary editor had said nothing to Yokozawa thus far, but his squared shoulders spoke volumes about his current mood.

The taste of sugared coffee warmed Yokozawa's throat as he turned his attention back towards his beverage, pulling the towel draped over his wet shoulders tighter around himself as he watched a pink bunny-shaped sugar cube float around the top of the drink.

“Uncle Kisa!” Hiyori's voice called out before a dash of pink and red ran past Yokozawa into the dark hall, and moments later she emerged again into the light of the kitchen, one of her small hands clasped into that of another man that Yokozawa was quite surprised to see.

“Hiyo-chan, do you know what's going on?” Kisa asked as the little girl led him into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes as he sighed, clearly not happy to be woken up so early.

“Umm...” Hiyo mumbled as she led her uncle over to one of the chairs at the breakfast bar across from Yokozawa. “Ah well... anyway, Uncle Kisa, Ricchan and Yokozawa-oniichan are here with us in the room.” The little girl said, changing the subject and it was by this point that Yokozawa noticed that Kisa's normally bright ebony colored eyes were clouded and grey. A pang of sympathy showed on the salesman's face as he saw this, remembering his conversation with Takano a few weeks ago about the editor's sudden illness.

“...Oh.” Kisa said, a frown marring his lips as he paused, face scrunched up in realization.

“...Good evening, Kisa-san. I...apologize for the inconvenience.” Yokozawa said in a hesitant greeting, guilt settling in his stomach.

“Ah, good evening, Yokozawa-san.” Kisa greeted back, turning his head to the side some when Hiyo let go of his hand to go and fetch another cup of tea. “I'm...sorry you had to see this.” Just what exactly the editor was referring to was uncertain as Ritsu came to sit down next to Kisa. The brunette grabbed the blackette's hand without a second thought and brought it up to his face before proceeding to sign to each other in silence.

The kitchen chair underneath him squeaked some as Yokozawa leaned back into it, his damp hair hiding his steel gaze as he stared down into his cup again, the little bunny having disappeared into nothing but pink flakes among murky brown.

The sound of someone settling into the chair next to him caught his attention as he turned to find Hiyori sitting there, her own beverage of apple juice in her grasp. The little girl gave him a smile when she caught his gaze and turned to him then, looking as if she wanted to say something, when a tired whine reached their ears, causing only three of the kitchen occupants to turn to the hallway.

“Did you really have to do that? What's the matter any-?” Yukina cut his question short as he and his brother reached the kitchen, twin copper gazes turning on Yokozawa, causing steel blue orbs to turn away from their burn.

“Yokozawa-san! Ah, um-!” The book-store clerk suddenly flailed a bit, unsuccessfully trying to hide his monstrous beast of a brother from sight. “Uh, this is, um...” Yukina looked back at his brother for support but Kirishima's gaze remained transfixed on Yokozawa. “What are you doing here???” He asked before going silent himself as he took in the expression that the salesman was making.

“Ah.... about that...” Yokozawa started, unable to look any members of this family in the eye as shame overwhelmed him. “I needed to use your restroom, and I couldn't contact you since my phone died. I... deeply apologize for my actions.”

Silence filled the room for a moment before Hiyori spoke up. “See, Uncle Kou? See, Papa? It wasn't Oniichan's fault!” The little girl held her balled little fists up, nodding her head in his defense but neither her uncle nor her father said anything, only looked at each other in strangled silence.

“So I'm guessing you saw everything?” Kisa spoke up in the silence of the room, causing steel blue orbs to gaze up at him and notice that the blackette was signing everything they were saying for Ritsu to the best of his ability.

Hesitation was present within Yokozawa as he thought back to those anxiety filled moments. “Yes. I saw claw marks on some of the carpeting and the...state of the winery before I came across Hiyori and...” His eyes flickered to the beast in front of him then back again. “Kirishima-san.”

“...The winery?” Yukina, who had previously been slouching over the counter with his forehead in his hands looked up at that. “What happened to the wine room?”

Both Yukina and Hiyori turned their questioning gazes towards Kirishima as the lion fox held one of his fingers up like he suddenly remembered something. Most everyone then watched in silence as the tall creature advanced to the trash can, clawed fingers reaching inward to hold up the empty plastic hoops of beer rings that had been laying atop the debris.

Yukina stood up straighter then, holding the bridge of his nose in irritation when Kirishima only shrugged as an explanation.

“Well, anyway...” He said, finding it best to change the subject “since you already know, we should... probably explain ourselves...”

 

Yokozawa listened intently, only asking a few questions as Yukina explained everything that they knew, Hiyori chiming in a few times to explain some things as well. They told of the first bear sighting, how Hiyo and the cub became attached, and eventually led up to the mother bear spirit cursing all of them.

They also described how Hiyori's appearance had changed, and the fact that she was forced to sleep by an unknown feeling when the sun comes up, and only awakens at around eight in the evening. Kirishima's current change takes place around a half-hour to an hour before Hiyori is woken up for the night, and he only is turned back to his original self some time before sunrise.

Kisa, Yukina, and Ritsu were also effected, slowly losing their senses over time. Yukina was the first to lose his sense of touch the night after the incident, but it wasn't confirmed until the day after when he noticed he couldn't feel the burn marks or scratches on his hands.

Ritsu found it increasingly difficult later on to hear even the loudest of noises before his ears stopped working entirely, while Kisa was constantly rubbing at his eyes to try and clear black spots clouding his vision until those spots eventually covered his entire gaze.

In order to cope with their sudden disabilities, Ritsu had taken up teaching everyone sign language as best he could, having already learned it in college.

Special dividers had also been placed along the walls to help Kisa navigate the dark hallways as well at least one mirror in each room so that Yukina could easily access them to look himself over for any possible injuries.

The art student let out a quiet sigh as he finally finished telling his family's tale, looking as if he had wanted to say a few things more, but refrained from doing so. Almost all eyes were on Yokozawa as the man took it all in, silence creeping over the kitchen. Certain pieces to a puzzle that he had been trying to decipher finally were stitching together.

When he was sure there was nothing else to say, Yokozawa slowly got up, his steel-blue gaze shifting over to the clock to realize that it was around three thirty in the morning. “I'm...going to bed. I appreciate you telling me this, and I will not tell anyone else. I can promise you that.” He took his damp towel off of his shoulders, handing it to Hiyo when the little girl reached out for it. “Again...I am deeply sorry for what happened tonight, and I deeply regret it.”

Kirishima's copper eyes hardened as he watched Yokozawa bid them all good night before the salesman left them all with a heavy tension in the air.

“So what are we gonna do?” Kisa's question filled the void once Yokozawa was sure to be out of earshot.

“I don't know.” Yukina sighed, the stress of it all weighing heavily upon him as he took up his lovers hand, seeking comfort. For once his little love didn't protest at the display of affection.

“I don't think Oniichan would tell.” Hiyori said, a small frown on her lips.

“Me neither, he's not that type of person.” Yukina nodded as well, believing her as he had known Yokozawa for quite some time now. “But still....”

The quiet copper eyes of Kirishima remained fixated on where they had last seen Yokozawa, before they flicked down to his paws...

 

A large sigh left Yokozawa's lips the next morning as he settled himself down in one of the plush wicker chairs situated in one of the manor's sun rooms. The crisp air was quietly ghosting over his body, causing him to shiver as he pulled back on the suit jacket he had been wearing yesterday. The time was barely seven in the morning, the sun just now peeking it's bright glow over the horizon.

The salesman passed a hand over his face as he connected his phone to a charger cord that Yukina had dropped off to him last night. He caught a glimpse of the heavy circles underneath his eyes in the little machine's black surface and frowned. The cellular device vibrated in Yokozawa's hand as it came back to life, casting the pathetic shadow away to show that Takano had left him a couple of messages.

Steel-blue orbs lightened up some as the blackette's fingers instantly went towards the call back button before the sound of someone approaching caught his attention. Yokozawa quickly diverted his gaze off to the side when Kirishima entered the room.

“Heyo.” The editor-in-chief greeted, his tone low with sleep.

Yokozawa's gaze differed to him then, pausing for a good while to take in the other man's form. “...Good morning.”

“Geez what happened to you?” Kirishima playfully asked, taking up a seat next to the salesman. “You look like you've been decked in the face.” He went to poke at the dark, worn lines underneath deep blue. His hand was swatted away in an instant, the salesman tensing from their close proximity.

“I'm fine.”

The father shrugged at that, taking a sip of his coffee, his relaxed manner only causing his younger companion more unease. Yokozawa struggled to swallow the feeling of sand in his throat as he glanced to the side at the editor-in-chief, breaking the stillness with a quiet interjection.

“...How are you feeling?”

Copper eyes blinked at that, looking without seeing at the calm, cool scenery outside the window after last nights storm. Kirishima shrugged. “Same as you.” His smooth voice was muffled some as he held his coffee mug to his lips, the warm mist from it tickling his nose. “Though if I'm honest, I'm still a little shocked to have seen you last night.”

Yokozawa shifted some in his chair, turning his attention away. “That should be my line.” His voice was hushed, still not entirely sure that Kirishima was that same gentle beast from before.

A hum left the editor-in-chief as he took a sip from his drink. “I do apologize, then.” Copper eyes glanced at the other man, a light in them that hadn't been there last night. “I didn't mean to frighten his highness with my unsightly image.”

Yokozawa cast him a glance, relaxing some at the usual banter from Kirishima that he hadn't realized he had been yearning for. “Hmph.” The younger man snorted lightheartedly, but the sudden serious mien that was thrown his way tensed him.

The father looked as if he had wanted to say something, to keep up their familiar play, but ultimately decided better. “I panicked, and I apologize for that.” The steaming cup of brew was set down as Kirishima turned to face him, finally getting to meat of what the two of them really should be discussing. “You have to understand the position that you've put us all in.”

“The position I've put you in?” Yokozawa squared his shoulders. “I didn't even want to stay here in the first place.”

Kirishima paused then, sighing through his nose as copper irises took in the image of his coworker briefly. “I understand that, but there was no way you would have made it home in that weather when I barely made it home to begin with.” The salesman frowned, those beautiful blue orbs glinting as the younger man moved to protest before the editor cut him off. “You are missing the bigger picture here, Yokozawa.”

The salesman straightened up some, the sound of his name falling from those lips stalling him. “...And what would that be?” He hesitantly asked.

Kirishima's fingers twitched at this, getting up from his chair wordlessly and advancing on Yokozawa, who backed up some into his own seat despite himself. “If you tell anyone about this, they can take my daughter away from me..” His tone was deathly hollow as he said this, grabbing hold of the younger man's chin and forcing blue to stare into copper once again.

Yokozawa's frown deepened as he stared up at Kirishima, his own hands grasping the chair underneath him as he longed to slap those hands away that had reached for him too many times now. “...Who?”

“Scientists, researchers, the police...If you can think of them, they'll come.” Kirishima hardened his gaze. “They'll also take me away and who knows what will happen then.”

Yokozawa was tempted to look away at that but refrained. “I already told you that I wouldn't tell anyone.”

A pregnant moment of quiet passed between them, the sound of waves shifting outside being the only calm amongst the rigid still. Kirishima pulled away after what felt like eons. “I don't believe you.” The blackette glowered a bit at this but let him continue. “This is my family we are talking about. So forgive me if I'm a bit guarded.”

“...So what are you saying?” Confusion shown in those steel-blue orbs as Yokozawa picked up on the subtle hint.

“I'm willing to strike a bargain with you.” Kirishima's eyes looked down at him, calculating. “To buy your silence.”

The salesman's forehead scrunched up and he blinked a couple of times. Hadn't he just said that he wouldn't say anything for free?

“I want you to stay here for the time being until I can trust your word.” Surprise clearly shown on the younger man's face but Kirishima paid it no mind. “This is a pretty big house, definitely a luxury worth your while.”

“What the?” The salesman said, straightening up in his chair. “There's no way in hell I'd agree to that!”

“It's true that I don't really have any leverage to get you to agree.” Kirishima finally backed off then, causing Yokozawa to relax a bit. The taller man took up his mug of coffee and took a sip. “But trust me when I say I have other ways to persuade you.” That damn cocky grin was suddenly back as the editor-in-chief pulled his phone out of his back pocket and shook it back and forth threateningly.

“And just what the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Yokozawa got up out of his chair then.

“Ah, wouldn't you like to know?” Kirishima smirked, pulling his phone away when the younger man blindly grabbed at it. “Let's just say I know a few worms that can dig up some dirt for me.”

The smaller of the two men leered at this, the more conscious part of him debating if there even was anything that Kirishima could hold over him, but as he began to think, a certain best friend of his came to mind, halting his train of thought abruptly. Those blue orbs gazed up at the editor then, silently judging the possibility.

“...How long would I be here for?” Yokozawa finally asked, caving from his thoughts.

Kirishima shrugged, taking a drink and not looking his way. “That really depends on how fast you can convince me...”

The blackette bit his lip and frowned, his gaze cast off to the side as he contemplated for the longest while. “...Fine.” Copper colored orbs looked his way but he refused to meet them. “But I'm agreeing only for Hiyori's sake.”

Kirishima was silent for a moment, his sight looking Yokozawa up and down. “That's fine by me.”

 

Steel-blue eyes turned away from almond, their burning irritation setting sights onto Yokozawa even before he opened the door.

Takano Masamune stood there, arms crossed as he took in the sight of his best friend. “Would you care to explain to me just why the fuck you made me come here at eight in the god damn morning?”

Yokozawa frowned, stepping aside to let the other man in, but the editor-in-chief refused to budge. “I said I'd give you gas money.” He tried to dodge the question but Takano was having none of it.

“The fuck does that have to do with the price of milk?”

The salesman paused then, his grip on the doorknob tightening ever so slightly. While it was true that he'd always loved this straight forward and stubborn side of Masamune, it could also be an incredible hindrance at times. Though the fact that he had showed up so fast with no explanation was proof of how worried he had been when the blackette didn't respond last night.

The moment that a grimace found it's way to Yokozawa's face, Takano knew that he had won. “Just get the hell in here and I'll explain later.” And with that, the brunette was left with little to do but follow as his best friend started off back into the hallway.

A whistle from Takano was the only thing to break up the quiet of their long trek as he was led further and further into the large abode, taking in the luxury of it all. His keen vision noticed Yokozawa tacking away a message on his phone, but decided against questioning him. The blackette could get real pissy if he didn't have his space.

Eventually, the two friends found themselves in a spacious library, causing Takano to pause for a moment, his gaze tracing over book titles with curiosity. Steel-blue eyes paused as well, softening at the sight of the relaxed editor-in-chief, but Yokozawa turned away before the man could notice his staring.

“Yokozawa-san?” The salesman question turned to find Ritsu sitting amongst the books, some work documents in his hands. Emerald orbs looked confused as they slowly took in Takano's image before glancing briefly at the clock and then back.

With those nervous gestures now making sense to him, Yokozawa advanced towards the younger man with new confidence, showing Ritsu the message he had typed for him on his phone.

While the two of them conversed silently, Takano stood off to the side, a puzzled look on his face. Emerald orbs met his briefly before they turned away, only causing the editor-in-chief to frown in confusion, something nagging at him like an itchy buzz in the back of his mind.

“Just stay here for a minute.” Takano barely registered his best friend's voice as Yokozawa came back over, one thumb pointed further into the library behind him. “I'll get you the keys to my apartment.”

Takano's features hardened in confusion. “...Why?”

“I'll tell you later.” The salesman bit out, pocketing his phone.

“I'm beginning to think that 'later' is never going to come.” The editor-in-chief said, but the words that were meant to be a playful jab came out harsher than intended.

Yokozawa's eye twitched and he made to retaliate but chose against it. “Patience is a virtue.” Was all he ended up saying before he turned around to leave.

“Wait a minute.” The editor-in-chief stopped him, nodding his head towards the quiet brunette. “Who's he?”

“That's Onodera-san, he's the one I've been having all those meetings with.”

“Ah...” Recognition found it's way onto the editor's face. “So he's the deaf one, is he?”

“Yes.” Yokozawa said through clenched teeth, swatting at his friend, but Takano side stepped away before it could land. “And don't be so damn rude, would you?”

“Yes mom.” Takano teased in his usual low monotone, his only reward for that statement being a glare as Yokozawa left the room, leaving the two editors alone.

 

“...Can I help you?” Yokozawa frowned as he found Kirishima lounging in his guest room, the editor-in-chief content against the blue satin sheets, fidgeting away on his laptop.

“You know you shouldn't keep frowning like that. It'll give you premature wrinkles.”

The salesman's eyes narrowed at this as he shut the door behind him. “Don't you have better things to do than loiter in other people's rooms?” He huffed, reluctantly coming closer to grab his items off of the nightstand.

A smirk found it's way onto Kirishima's face from the other man's attitude. “You do realize that this is my room, inside my own house right?”

Never before had Yokozawa felt the urge to punch someone than right at that moment as he caught sight of the editor's shit-eating grin. He grabbed his briefcase and keys in a huff and turned to leave. “Fine then, I'll be going now.”

“Hold your horses.” Kirishima didn't even look up from his computer screen as he said this, but still managed to get the blackette to halt in his steps.

“What do you want now?” Yokozawa's eyes were hard but his tone sounded exhausted.

Kirishima rested his chin on one of his hands, giving the younger man a sidelong glance. “Well, I wouldn't mind a strip tease now that you mention it.”

Yokozawa faultered, a light blush coming over his face without his consent. “What the...excuse you!” The light haired editor only laughed at him in response, closing his laptop and getting up from the bed.

“Geez, you sure do get bent out of shape easily!” Kirishima placed his free hand onto Yokozawa's shoulder, noticing the immediate glare that was thrown towards the offending fingers. “I was just kidding, don't get your panties in a twist.” He steered the two of them out of the room before shutting the door and locking it with a key from his back pocket.

“Why are you...?” The puzzled blackette started, but Kirishima paid him no mind as he turned and walked away, swinging the key ring around with his pointer finger.

“Just follow me.”

With no other choice but to do so, Yokozawa trudged after him as the taller man led him to two identical doors, the wood immediately different as compared to all the others in the mansion. The texture was of much higher quality, and seemed to be heavier too as Kirishima's arm flexed a bit as he opened the left door.

While Yokozawa was stunned and impressed with his last room, this one made his pause in sheer awe. This room could be considered fit for royalty. Dark purples and blues lined the walls, curtains of the finest silk canopying over the massive bed. Couches and chairs were situated about the room, their décor matching that of the bed. Elegant silver arches decorated the walls and lined the furniture, contrasting beautifully with the tasteful dark colors.

“Would you stop standing there gawking and get in here already?”

Kirishima's teasing quip brought the blackette back to reality and Yokozawa hesitantly stepped inside, noting that the room also had a huge walk in closet and bathroom. There was even a fucking glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling. “Jesus, what the hell did your uncle do for a living?”

A grin found it's way to the editor-in-chief. “If you think this is bad you probably shouldn't come into my room.” As he said this, Kirishima opened up a door and walked through it.

Steel-blue orbs could make out rich red in the other room, but little more than that as the other man came back, no laptop in his grasp now. “Hiyo calls this room the Queen's Room, and considering that it's going to be your room for the time being, I'd say that it fits quite well.”

“Oi!” Yokozawa frowned, offended, but Kirishima continued to talk.

“A lot of people don't know this, but my family is actually pretty wealthy. I don't like to flaunt it though, for Hiyo's sake. Truthfully... the only reason I accepted this house is because it was specifically inherited to me.” The light haired editor shut the door to his room and tapped his knuckle against it. “My room is connected to this one, and I doubt that you'd have any complaints about its size.”

“And just what was wrong with the other room?” Yokozawa crossed his arms the best he could with his clothes in his grasp. While the luxury of the room was stunning, it left him feeling a bit nervous and out of place.

Kirishima sat on the massive mattress, shaking his head with a lighthearted smile on his face. “I told you that I'm buying your silence, remember? This room is the second best in the house, the first being mine. I'm not too keen to give it up, though, so you'll have to forgive me.”

“Then why the hell are you giving it to me for? Give it to Hiyo.”

“Trust me I've tried, but she says the size intimidates her.” Yokozawa couldn't say that he disagreed. “Plus, I'd like to keep you under my thumb for the time being.”

The salesman's brow furrowed in protest but he chose not to respond to that, suddenly remembering what he came here to do in the first place. “Whatever.” He mumbled before fleeing the expensive room and it's irritating owner.

 

By this time, Takano was getting to be impatient. While it was true that he felt at ease in a library, that didn't mean that he wanted to stand around all day waiting. Plus...

Almond colored irises glanced at the other silent occupant in the room, having stolen numerous glimpses of him so far. He just couldn't shake the feeling that he knew Onodera from somewhere, the ever present persistent buzz in the back of his mind telling him so.

When he could take it no more, the editor-in-chief got up from his chair across the room and put the book he had been reading back. While doing so, he caught a glimmer of emerald orbs meeting his for a moment before they hid back underneath the sanctuary of filled pages.

“Oi.” Takano tried to get his attention as he walked over towards the other brunette, just now remembering that he couldn't hear him. The editor-in-chief frowned a bit at this as he sat down next to Onodera, getting his attention by tapping him lightly on the shoulder.

Those beautiful green eyes widened comically as Ritsu turned to him then, having not noticed the other man advance on him. “Ah, yes?” He asked, his voice probably trying to be quiet but it came out a bit loud.

Takano paused for a moment, eyes softening at the other man's slip up that he probably hadn't noticed. The older man made a motion with his hands as if he were writing on paper.

Ritsu blinked at this but picked up his meaning right away. “Ah, hold on!” He turned around in his chair and picked up a notebook and pen that he usually kept with him when he didn't have his laptop.

Takano took the offered items and scribbled out a question, feeling those captivating eyes watching every stroke he made with the pen in curiosity. When finished, he turned it around for the other brunette to see.

Have we met before?

Ritsu stared at the words for a long while, a confused look on his face as he kept looking up at Masamune and then back to the question. Eventually he answered in a puzzled tone. “I don't know...”

Takano brought the notebook back and flipped to another page before writing something else: You work in the literature department at Marukawa, right? I am the editor-in-chief of Emerald, so maybe I've just seen you around work. My name is Takano Masamune by the way.

The last bit was written off to the side, almost as if he wasn't sure if Ritsu had known that already or not. Seeing it caused a small smile to grace his lips. “Yes, so maybe that's it...” Ritsu brought one of his fingers up to his lip, thinking. “My name is Onodera Ritsu.”

Takano paused some at hearing the other man's name, rolling it around in his brain to see if he had heard it somewhere before, but nothing came to him. He took up his pen again to continue pleasantries but the familiar voice of his best friend broke their comfortable silence.

“I've got them.” Yokozawa said, his keys dangling from his fingers. “Let's go.”

Masamune paused then, casting a sideways glance at Ritsu, who only seemed to know that Yokozawa was there because of the editor-in-chief's reaction to the voice. “Gimme a minute.” The brunette turned back to the younger editor then, writing something new: I have to go now. It was nice meeting you.

Emerald green orbs shifted from the notebook to Yokozawa and then back again before Ritsu nodded, taking back his notebook from the other brunette. “Likewise.”

Takano waved goodbye at him then, mouthing 'I'll see you around.', before leaving with Yokozawa, that buzz from before still fluttering strong in his thoughts.

 

“So you two seemed to have gotten on pretty well.”

Takano shrugged as the salesman led his back to the front of the house. “I guess...” He said with a pondering expression. “I just can't shake the feeling that I know him from somewhere.”

“Well, the two of you did go to the same high school.” Yokozawa said nonchalantly, the two men coming to a stop next to the editor-in-chief's car. “He told me how he usually spent a lot of time in the library there reading books, so you probably saw him around.” Takano stiffened then, almond orbs widening as they looked back at the house.

“What?” The younger of the two asked, looking back at the editor-in-chief with a raised dark brow, having noticed the far away look on Masamune's face.

“...Nothing.”

Yokozawa didn't seem very convinced but he let the subject drop as he held up his keys. “I need you to go to my apartment and get some stuff for me.”

“And why, may I ask, can't you do that yourself?”

The salesman paused, taking in his best friend's seemingly relaxed posture as Takano leaned up against his car, Yokozawa already knowing that he was anything but calm. Masamune had never been one to nag over and over unless he really wanted to know what was going on. “I promise I will tell you when you come back...” He stared, looking away into Kirishima's front yard. “I promise.”

Silence stretched on between the two of them for the longest time. Yokozawa felt as if the sturdy strings of their friendship were being ripped apart by the silence alone, but he was powerless to stop it.

Eventually, Takano caught his eye as he slowly moved to get in the car. “...Alright.” Was all he said, not even saying goodbye as he took off driving after Yokozawa rattled off the items he needed from his apartment.

And as the salesman watched his car drive off, he couldn't help but think that one of the strings that held them together had just snapped...

 

“...Woah.”

“Shut up.” Yokozawa could feel a headache coming on as he threw his suitcase on the massive satin bed. His steel-blue orbs trained themselves on the dark azure wall that separated his room from Kirishimas'. Biting his lip, the salesman then went to his private bathroom, opened the door and turned on the lights, receiving a whistle from Takano.

“Get in here.” Yokozawa said, too distracted to admire the lavish interior for now.

A confused dark eyebrow rose at this. “Are we going to romp in the bathroom?” Takano asked teasingly, but the glaring look he received silenced him.

“I said to fucking stuff it.” Yokozawa bit back, but his words held no actual bite as he shut the door after the brunette followed him into the huge bathroom. “Listen.” The salesman said, running a hand through his black bangs as he paused for a moment. “I have to stay here for a while.”

Masamune's expression grew more confused. “You don't seem very happy about this.”

“Of course not!” Yokozawa spat, instantly regretting his tone as he sat on the edge of the bathtub, just now noticing how big it was. “...I would never stay here if I had the choice.” He tried again, his voice softer this time.

Takano's was silent then, putting the pieces together, hands fisting in his pockets.

“...Are you being threatened?”

Steel-blue caught almond then, noting their silent ferocity. A shiver ran down Yokozawa's back as he realized what that look meant. “Ah, no. I never...said that. It's for business. It'd just be easier if I stay here for a while to finish up a few things.” He said, trying to keep his voice neutral, but he knew that Masamune was already aware of his lying.

Without a word, the editor-in-chief left the bathroom, unhindered as his best friend called out to him.

“Masamune!” Yokozawa called, hurriedly following after him but paused suddenly, his sapphire eyes widening.

“Where's the owner of this house?” Takano's voice had the keen severity of a bothered snake.

“Right here.” Almond eyes whipped around to find copper staring intently at them. Kirishima stood there in the doorway to his room, one hand raised as if a teacher had called on him. “Geez, and here I was thinking that you'd fallen in the tub. I was getting all pumped up to come to your rescue, Yokozawa.” The salesman's hands balled into fists at his sides, a light dust of pink on his cheeks as he made to retort, but Kirishima continued to speak. “What a surprise to see you this morning, Takano-san. When Yokozawa said that he'd get someone to retrieve his things, I didn't peg you to even be awake so early.”

The Editor-in-chief of Emerald remained stoic, seeming to be not at all surprised to see Kirishima there.“I also would have never pegged you to own this house, Kirishima-san. Let alone force fellow employees to stay in it against their will.” Takano said, his tone sounding bored, but his eyes clearly showing irritation.

The two chief editors stared at each other then, the tension in the room making it hard to breathe. Eventually, the older of the two pushed off the wall and advanced a little ways towards the two best friends, his arms crossed but his posture relaxed. “Now who went and told you that?” He asked, that smug look in place. “I offered for him to stay here to help prepare Japuun for the fair. My schedule has been rather hectic as of late, if you haven't noticed.”

Yokozawa blinked silently at this, truly impressed how Kirishima could just rattle off that lie with such a good poker face.

The editor-in-chief of Emerald, however, didn't seem to be so affected. “Yea you should probably fix that.”

Copper irises twitched then, but their owner's smirk never faltered. “I do apologize, Takano-san. I didn't realize my personal affairs were any of your business.”

“They weren't.” Masamune's gaze shifted to Yokozawa then, catching the salesman off guard. Suddenly all the attention was on him, and he faltered a little under their accusing stares.

Eventually, the salesman let out a breathe and moved to stand in between the two editors, his steel-blue eyes catching Kirishimas in silent agreement.

“He's right Masamune.” Yokozawa finally said, crossing his arms. He completely missed how Kirishima's eyes widened some at that. “I'd never have a chance to get all of this done in the office. You know that.” The blackette looked into Takano's irises, unable to stop how the icy depths of blue in his gaze always seemed to soften when they stared into almond. “Besides, have I ever lied to you?”

“You've never had reason to.” Takano said, shoving his hands in his pockets. He was silent then for the longest time, looking between Kirishima and Yokozawa, trying to figure out the puzzle that was so clearly there.

Ultimately, he had nothing to do but relent.

“Fine then, but I hope you don't mind, Kirishima-san, if I drop by frequently then to see Yokozawa. Emerald still needs to get ready too, after all.” The editor-in-chief said, knowing that his best friend was glaring at him now.

“I suppose that would be fair.” Kirishima shrugged. “Though I will kick you out if you try to stay any later than six. I need my beauty rest.”

Takano paused then, looking as if he wanted to say something but thought better of it. “Then it's settled. I'll be going now.”

As he turned to leave, Yokozawa followed at his heels, not even bothering to cast the editor-in-chief of Jappun a second glance. Kirishima was left there to watch them go with a hard copper gaze, arms tightly crossed over his chest.

 

“So I'll email you those numbers later on this evening.”

Yokozawa's voice flitted into Takano's ears as he climbed into his car. The chief editor, though, wasn't paying all that much attention. He knew that talking about work was an outlet for the salesman to distance himself from topics he'd rather not discuss. Given the situation, he should have probably let his best friend continue, but Masamune found himself unable to.

“Hey.” The younger of the two caught Yokozawa's wrist in his grasp, effectively shutting him up. “If you need me, you call me all right?”

“What the hell is that?” The salesman snapped angrily at him, but did not retreat from his touch, something that Takano had never been blind to in the slightest. “I'm not a fucking five year old.”

“No, but I can always tell when there's something bothering you.” Masamune let him go then and started up the car, his almond gaze turning some to look back at the mysterious house. “Just do this for me, will you?”

“Hm.” Yokazawa hummed, agreeing, as he stepped back from the vehicle so Takano could shut the door.

“See you later.” One last long look passed between sapphire and almond before Takano drove away, causing Yokozawa to let out a sigh of relief, the tension in his back he hadn't realized was there fading away.

As he turned around to go back inside though, the realization that this was going to be his home for the foreseeable future brought back the stress tenfold.

...Fuck it, he was going back to bed.

 

The quiet drone of an air conditioner was the first thing that greeted the salesman as he slowly made his way back to the reality. Sitting up, Yokozawa passed a hand over his face as he observed his elegant new surroundings. Even now that he had some of his own personal items within the room, it still blinded him with its excessive décor.

He slowly got up from the massive bed, having to roll at least twice to escape its satin clutches. Yokozawa was hesitant as he gradually got dressed in a white button down shirt and black slacks, feeling as if he would break everything within the expensive room if he so much as looked at it for too long.

'I'd honestly rather spend the night in a god damn shack.' Yokozawa thought to himself as he finished changing in the bathroom, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror among the polished marble. 'This doesn't suit me at all...' His gaze caught sight of the door separating himself from Kirishima. 'Just what is that idiot trying to prove anyway? I would... never tell something like this to anyone.'

A contemplative expression came upon his face as he threw his clothes into a hamper. His thoughts traced back to gentle paws and tender copper eyes for a moment before he quickly shoved the memory away.

Fluttering laughter caught his ear then, and he turned to the source of it, making his way over to a pair of large windows blocked by heavy silk curtains. Yokozawa pushed the fabric away to peek outside and did a double take as he noticed door handles attached to the windows. “What the hell?” He asked himself in pure disbelief as he turned the handle and pushed the crystal doors open, revealing his own private balcony.

“You've gotta be fucking kidding me.” He muttered to himself as he took in the multitude of glorious plants lining the stone terrace.

That same laughter he heard before brought him out of his stunned state. Yokozawa carefully made his way to the edge of the balcony and peered over the side, now recognizing the voice as Yukina's.

“It's almost done.” The store clerk said in a playful tone, a dashing smile upon his face as he kept looking from Kisa back to the paint covered canvas he had set up on the deck. He had already finished painting the piece and was just waiting for it to dry.

His black haired companion was laid upon a wickered lounge chair next to him, relaxing under the afternoon summer sun. Kisa looked as if he wanted to say something but he only closed his mouth and hummed in acknowledgment, his unseeing eyes closed off behind their lids.

After a few more moments, Kisa let himself be pulled up fro his chair as Yukina grabbed his hand and led him over to his masterpiece. “It's all done. You can touch it now.” He encouraged his boyfriend, giving him a little space. “Try and guess what it is.”

Shaky fingers slowly touched the canvas, tracing along the raised patterns of paint to try and make out an image. “Is it...” Kisa paused, a scrunched look of contemplation on his face. “...a horse?” He asked, completely lost.

Yukina chuckled behind him, reaching out and covering his boyfriend's hand with his much bigger one. “No.” He said, shaking his head as he smiled and leaned against the smaller man. “It's you, Kisa-san.” His voice was tender as he said this, his lips pressing against the top of his love's head.

Kisa was silent for a long time at that, his face turned to the floor as a deep blush covered his cheeks. “...You should have drawn a horse.” He admonished his boyfriend after a few moments, his embarrassment clear upon his face.

Yukina rested his head against Kisa's. “Why would I do that when I could paint you instead, Kisa-san?” He pulled his boyfriend close, wrapping his free arm around the smaller man's waist like a glossy ribbon. “After all, you're much cuter than anything else I could draw.”

Kisa's blush intensified and he made to retort back but paused instead, his expression saddening. He could sense Yukina pause as well, the care-free moment between them gone. “I want to see it.” He stroked the dried paint before turning around in his lovers arms to press his cheek against Yukina's chest. “I want to see you.”

Yukina let out a shaky breath, threading his fingers through his love's hair and holding him close. “I know...” He said softly, his voice carrying the same amount of pain as Kisa's. “You will soon, I know it.” .

Above them, Yokozawa frowned and slipped away back into his room before they could notice him. His eyebrows were downcast in pity for them, wishing that there was something, anything, that he could do for this family.

 

It was well after eight in the evening when Yokozawa finally decided to venture back outside his room. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and had holed himself up all day, choosing to complete some work instead of socializing. Once Yukina and Kisa had ventured back inside the house, it had been relatively quiet all day. Once or twice footsteps passed by his room, causing him to tense unconsciously, but it had otherwise been a quiet day, which he was thankful for.

Yokozawa's stomach turned painfully, urging him to follow the painted lines for the kitchen as he pinched the bridge of his nose, thoughts swirling like troubled waters. He was so exhausted from all of this. His muscles had been constantly on edge all day, like bows drawn with arrows ready to fire, only their time to shoot never came.

A small creak could be heard from behind him and he immediately stopped, turning around to stare down the darkened hallway behind him. He half expected to see Kirishima standing there, towering over him with his massive nightly form, but there was no one there.

'You have to calm down.' He scolded himself, shaking his head and proceeded down the hallway, the sound of quiet music becoming more apparent the closer he came to his destination.

“Ah! Yokozawa-oniichan!” Hiyo's sweet voice called out to him the moment he stepped into view. She put down a spoon she had been using to mix some batter and rushed over to greet him, a smile on her face. “Good morning!”

The salesman blinked, his gaze flicking to the dark night outside before looking back down at the little girl. In the end he didn't have the heart to correct her. “Good morning, Hiyo.”

She grinned up at him and turned back to the breakfast bar, where she had a laptop set up. The little girl clicked on a link and opened up a video, turning to him as it buffered. “I was just about to watch Papa's video for today. Wanna watch with me?” She offered, resuming her place in front of her cooking ingredients.

“Ah, sure.” He agreed without a thought, before remembering his tortured stomach. “But would you mind if I had something to eat first?” He pointed to the fridge.

“Of course!” Hiyo said, opening it up for him. “Help yourself! Uncle Kou made some soup earlier that you can have.”

“Thank you. I'll have some then.” Yokozawa found the soup easily and, with Hiyo's help, was able to heat some up in their microwave. As he waited for it to warm, his steel-blue gaze drifted to Hiyo and then to her laptop on the bar. “So what video are we watching again?”

“It's Papa's message.” Hiyori happily explained as she poured some of her baking batter into cupcake liners. “Every afternoon, he sits down and tells me about his day, since he can't do it at night time.” At this, Yokozawa looked down and frowned. “He said something about wanting me to see him, even though I still see him every night.” Her voice was light and joking, but Yokozawa could tell there was a saddened undertone to her words.

“He probably means that he wants you to hear his voice.” He offered an explanation, opening the microwave when it beeped at them.

Hiyori paused then, looking up with her head tilted some in thought. “I guess so.” She said and then laughed a little as she put her cupcakes in the oven. “But I do still hear him speak. He's just a lot louder now.”

Yokozawa couldn't help but chuckle with her. “Roaring doesn't count as talking.”

“I think it's close enough!” Hiyo teased, bringing him a spoon as he sat down at the breakfast bar.

Yokozawa chose to stay silent then, but he did shake his head as he began to eat his soup, making a mental note to compliment the chef later on.

Hiyori joined him at the bar and pushed play on the video, waving at the screen when her father did, even though he couldn't see her do it.

“Good morning Hiyo.” The handsome editor-in-chief waved at the video screen, a smile to match Hiyo's on his face. “Happy Saturday Princess.” Kirishima said, pausing for a moment before continuing, that cocky expression on his face that Yokozawa loathed to see.

“Well as I predicted, we are going to have Yokozawa stay with us for a while.” At this, Hiyo paused the video and turned to him excitedly.

“Really?”

The salesman was momentarily taken aback by her excitement at his stay, but he then remembered that they couldn't really have visitors. “Yea.” He eventually nodded, eating a spoonful of his soup as he didn't really want to go into any of the details right at this moment.

“Yay!” The little girl exclaimed and happily turned back to the screen again, causing him to smile a bit at her joy.

“So expect to see his grumpy face around here for the time being.” And Yokozawa's smile was gone just from those words. Did the guy always have to act like that towards him?

Hiyori giggled next to him, not at all bothered by the sentiment as Kirishima continued.

“You asked me yesterday, Hiyo, how I was feeling. And I just wanted to tell you that, again, I'm fine.” The man reassured his daughter on screen, but even so Yokozawa could clearly see the filled bags underneath Kirishima's eyes. The sight caused the salesman to pause. “Everyone's just a little shaken from what happened last night.” Yokozawa looked away from the screen with a guilted expression at that, the rest of the message muted to his ears.

“Ah, Papa! How long have you been standing there?” Hiyo suddenly said as the video reached it's end, looking past Yokozawa. Startled steel-blue eyes looked up to find Kirishima leaning against the door frame, looking every bit the same creature that the salesman had seen last night. An abrupt tense feeling that he couldn't stop came over his very muscles as the lion-fox approached the two of them.

Strong, steady breaths left the beast's nose as Kirishima delicately placed his large paws on both of their shoulders, keenly taking notice of how the salesman couldn't look at him.

“Papa, papa!” Hiyo chirped enthusiastically as she turned to him in her seat. “So Oniichan is really staying with us?” She didn't wait for her father's confirmation before she went off on her own little jubilant tirade. “This is wonderful! We haven't had a visitor in so long! We should-”

Kirishima couldn't help the soft look that came over his eyes at his daughter's happiness. Underneath his paw, Yokozawa's shoulder tensed but neither of them made any effort to remove it.

The lion-fox's eyes slowly slid like wicked snakes over to Yokozawa then, catching skiddish sapphire in his copper gaze before the salesman looked away from him, causing the editor-in-chief's expression to curl in imminent mischief.

 

~Random Short!~

'Good morning sweetheart~! <3'

A grimace found it's way across Yokozawa's lips as he read his text from his...boyfriend.(He had never been comfortable calling the man as such and probably never would be.)

The salesman didn't bother responding to the editor-in-chief of Japuun as he slowly made his way to his kitchen for a cup of coffee, feeling the distinct rub of Sorata curling around his legs in his usual morning greeting.

He could distinctly hear the sound of his phone buzzing against the hard counter top as he fixed himself breakfast, but didn't hazard to look at the message until he was seated at his small kitchen table to eat.

Yokozawa didn't even get a chance to swallow his first mouthful of toast before he was spewing it out in shock, coughing and gagging as he reread the text message from Masamune over again in pure unbridled disgust.

'Ugh, remember those tacos we got last night? Well, I just got done taking the most firey shit ever. Geez, those chilies were just as hot going out as they were going in.'

“You-!” The salesman couldn't finish his sentence as the man sent him a little poop emoji next and a happy face. Appalled, Yokozawa quickly typed out a message in response.

'You are so fucking disgusting! Why do you always send me shit like this!?'

A response was typed in no less than a minute: 'Because you are my best friend. Gotta keep you updated.' The message came with a laughing emoji and another one with devil horns.

And then Yokozawa was left with a disgusted face as he brought a hand up to cover his eyes, shaking his head. He wished he could say this was the first time something like this had happened, but it definitely wasn't.

The noticeable buzz of another message sounded again and Yokozawa actually found himself relieved to find that it was from Kirishima.

'I miss you, baby bear. :* Let's have lunch together today.'

A sigh left the salesman's mouth at the nickname as he was in the middle of typing a positive response when another message came from Takano.

'Whew, yea, my asshole sure is on fire today.'

Outraged, Yokozawa's eye twitched as he typed out an angered response.

'Oh yea? Well my burps still smell like dick from last night. How good is that of a response for you? D:<'

Yokozawa was just in the middle of angrily typing out five thousand eggplant emoji’s when the receiver’s three-dot elipses showed up, indicating the formulation of a response.

'...Geez, you could have just said no.' Yokozawa read Kirishima's next response in horror as he realized that he had sent that to the wrong person. Dear God, how could he go to work that day and face the man now? But then he remembered that he had to, if only to give his so called best friend a piece of his fist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know it's been a long time and you were probably were wondering if I was even still alive, but have no fear, I am here. A lot has happened in between updates of this fic: I've graduated from college, gotten my liberal arts degree and after a lot of time thinking on it, I have decided to go back to school in the fall and move up into a dorm to study creative writing professionally. I have also started working on my very first novel and am very excited to put my own ideas and characters out there as I learn further. 
> 
> What this means for you as my readers and subscribers is that I will be taking my writing more seriously from here on out. Writing on these sites is still very hobby and fun-based, but I intend to put my all into every bit of my writing from now on(excluding random shorts those are just for dumb fun XD). Also, any feedback will be more than appreciated and I intend to use any constructive criticism to it's fullest.
> 
> I can not say if updates will be more frequent, but know that I have never, not once, forgotten about this fic. This couple is my otp, in every sense, and I intend to finish what I started, even if it takes a while. So I apologize if I grow busy and fall of the face of the earth sometimes, but know that I will always come back.
> 
> As always, thanks for your support and I hope that you enjoyed reading! Any feedback will forever be greatly appreciated! Ja Ne!
> 
> Next time: As Yokozawa, Hiyo and Kirishima grow closer, so do two others. How will Yokozawa respond when a confession is made?
> 
> ~Migoto Nami

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading this! The idea came to me when I watched Disney's Beauty and The Beast and the rest just came together.
> 
> I chose to have Kirishima be a lion-fox hybrid because I've always thought of him as being a fox if he was going to be any animal, and I have seen him drawn as a lion before so I just decided to mix the two. I didn't want him to be too beastly because the curse wasn't really aimed at him, it was aimed at Hiyo. But I'll get to that later. Also, all questions about the specifics of the curse will be answered in the next chapter as well.
> 
> I really wanted to do a story with these two ever since I first read about them, so I hope that I did them justice. I tried to keep them in character as best I could, but this is an abnormal situation after all. Anyway, as always feedback is forever appreciated! I hope that you enjoyed reading! Ja ne!
> 
> Next time: Yokozawa appears and makes a few discoveries.
> 
> ~Migoto Nami


End file.
